


A Long Road To Recovery

by Ashc



Category: Daredevil (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men, X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Attacks, Attempted Murder, Brainwashing, Death, F/M, Fighting, Forced Killing, Furry Blue Murder Husband™, HE PLAYS GUITAR TOO, Hank speaks multiple languages, I SAVED ALEX AGAIN, I intend to use Beauty and the Beast lyrics, Knives used to harm someone, Loki is mr steal your girl, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Suicide, Probably not actual smut, Protective Hank, Quick silver times two, Raven is oblivious, Rivalry, Running Away, Slow Burn, Suicide Attempts, There's some Halex in there if you squint and tilt your head, alex isnt, and has advanced healing, be preparrrred!, because I can't write it, both Peter and Pietro exist, but he doesn't know how to face it, embarrased Hank, hank is falling in love, hank is really in over his head, i will take advantage of all of these, mentions of torture, might have some surprises, mystique doesn't like that, poor Hank lost his friend and the woman he was falling in love with, probably a few mentions of smut, protective Logan, self hate, should be fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2018-09-28 12:55:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10101704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashc/pseuds/Ashc
Summary: Havenha·venˈhāvən/nouna place of safety or refuge.Raven night is a mutant with a dark and twisted past. At age 18 she was kidnapped by a madman and brainwashed to be a living weapon. Often paired with the winter soldier she was known as Oblivion, and for anyone she was sent after that's where she sent them. Her powers included Electrokinesis, advanced healing, telekinesis and touch telepathy. At age 26 after 8 years of being used she finally escaped. Terrified and alone she tried to seclude herself from everyone, fearing her own abilities.





	1. Fic cover

 

 

[Come talk with Raven and the others ](https://x-vengers-and-co.tumblr.com)

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 1

 

  
Raven Night shivered in the dark unwelcoming forest, the air held a sharp chill that promised snow. The 26 year old mutant crouched under a large fallen tree, her clothing was torn and barely covered her shivering form, under her clothing there was evidence of terrible injuries, though her skin was smooth and unblemished it was covered in more blood than she should have been able to survive losing. Uncurling from under her poor shelter Raven went to collect several branches of wood, after piling them together with telekinesis the woman sent a white hot bolt of electricity towards the pile effectively setting it ablaze.

She crouched by the burning pile still shivering uncontrollably. She sat still, remembering her escape from her captors three days prior. She had managed to break free when they had been taunting her. Her emotions had gotten the better of her and her powers, had surged out of control. She didn’t know how her powers had broken her out of the usually mutant proof cell she had been kept in for the past few years but she was glad they had. She had immediately run as long and as far as she possibly could. With a healing mutation she could run longer and further than a normal person or rather a normal mutant. The woman sighed and curled in on herself.

Despite her escape she was feeling oddly upset, she had been forced to leave behind her only friend, a woman only two years younger than her, in the compound she had been held in. She couldn’t help but wonder if the other woman was safe or not. With a heavy sign she looked up at the stars and silently promised her friend she’d find her father and find a way to save her, a moment of peace passed before Raven stiffened and shot upright, staring into the murky darkness surrounding her.

A second later she tensed even more and scurried into the forest, not even half a minute later a feral looking man broke into the clearing, after looking around wildly he growled and slowly three long silvery claws emerged from each of his tightly closed fists. Raven watched him carefully, he didn’t seem familiar but she didn’t know all the mutants who had been held captive along with her, he might still be someone sent to find her and drag her back.

"Heeeere Kitty, Kitty, Kitty...." The man's voice was deep and gruff and held a slight warning tone, Raven was already tense as a post, watching this man and his clearly dangerous movements, was making her uneasy. Her body starting to slip into an attack posture in response. After seven long years of being brainwashed and controlled she knew how to fight and win against even highly trained government officials. She stayed on high alert as she slipped from the trees back into the clearing, the strange man eyeballed her for a moment before retracting his claws, once his posture relaxed so did Raven. The two mutants stood, silently facing each other for several long moments. After a while the man pulled something from his pocket, raven shifted back onto a defensive posture. The man raised a brow then motioned to what he had in his hand, raven settled a little when she saw it was only a cigar, the man rolled his eyes a little and lit it then put it in his mouth, almost immediately taking a deep drag from it.

"Yer a mutant?" Raven stiffened again at the man's voice, she slowly nodded getting ready to attack or run should the man become a threat. She was becoming almost dizzy with how often she was changing from being tense to relaxing a little bit.

"And you're living here? By yourself?" Another nod was all he received in answer. He wasn’t surprised, he had been like this before, wild, scared and angry. He knew what it was like to be hunted.

"Do you want a place to stay? I got a friend who always has a room open" Raven tensed up even more, a few bolts of electricity dancing around her hands and body. The man's offer was starting to sound like something she'd rather avoid, it was worked like these that had gotten her captured and held captive in the first place. The man sighed a little and looked annoyed.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I was sent by Charles Xavier, the friend I was talking about, he runs a school for mutants. He said you could use some help, the name's Logan by the way" Raven watched the man...." Logan", with a weary gaze, after a moment she sighed and relaxed.

"I'm Raven..." She knew that plenty of women had the name Raven, as long as she didn't share her last name Logan wouldn't be able to track her if she needed to escape. Logan chuckled softly and sits down on the ground.

"I know a woman named Raven, she's kinda like you. Always on edge, ready to fight if she needs to....she helps with the school now, Hank has a thing for her.....she's also blue" Raven frowned a little bit, she could vaguely remember a night four years ago when she had been put under the influence of her command code and sent after a blue skinned mutant, suddenly heading to this school seemed like a bad idea. Logan instantly picked up on her hesitation and stands up. Raven watched him on high alert, this seemed like it was going to head downhill quickly. Logan watched her with a weary gaze, he didn’t want to start a fight but this woman was more twitchy than a rabbit’s nose.

"Easy kitty, I'm not here to cause trouble" Raven watched him with a careful expression still unsure of his intent

"You should go now! I don't need to go to this "school" I'm perfectly fine here" Logan raised his hand in the air.

"Alright, I'm going. Don't bite my head off. The professor jus' said he wanted you at the school, something about you being an uncontrolled mutant" Raven growled softly and hissed.

"I am not uncontrolled. I haven't met any other mutants, humans or anything besides wildlife!" Logan raised a brow and shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, I still gotta bring you back for him, he can’t allow a dangerous mutant to wander free." Raven suddenly looked fearful, she started trembling her fear causing bolts of electricity to jump off her again. Logan rolls his eyes a little and muttered.

"I don't got time for this, I'll bring you back one way or another. Lets at least try to make it easy for both of us.”

He slowly closed his fists and let his claws show, a second later Raven was holding a bolt of electricity in each hand, the two watched each other closely then Logan suddenly growled and launched himself across the clearing towards Raven in his usual attack without a proper strategy style.

The black haired mutant reacted faster than Logan had anticipated, she ducked and twisted out of his path, simultaneously she sent a powerful wave of telekinetic force towards him sending him flying into a tree. She took the opportunity to dance away from him, keeping her body ready to either attack or spring away from another attack. It took him a moment but Logan recovered and leapt at her again. The two moved seamlessly together, Logan's more aggressive, wilder attacks didn't seem to hit Raven. While her own more graceful, coordinated attacks weren't effective either. Logan was quickly getting annoyed with how long this was wearing on. He had things he’d much rather be doing, fighting with a crazed mutant wasn’t on his list of things to do today. He huffed in annoyance and moved quickly.

This time around Raven was unable to keep up with the sudden burst of speed and movement. When Logan attacked again his claws sunk home in her stomach, the woman made a startled cloaked off noise and collapsed in Wolverine's arms. The man sighed and picked up the body, he looked down at the woman's slowly closing eyes. He wasn’t pleased with how this had turned out, he felt a twinge of regret and sympathy for the woman’s fair.

"I was told to bring you back to the school, the professor won't be happy yer dead but I'll still bring you back, you can be at peace now... I don’t know what was hunting you but it can’t find you now" by the time he was finished speaking Raven's eyes had completely dulled, Logan adjusted his hold on her and started walking out of the forest, when he reached the road almost two hours later he lay Raven in the back seat, he got in the front and started the car and drove off.

It took Logan less than a day to reach the school from where he had found the woman. Thankfully when he arrived it was the middle of the night and no students should be up and about, he didn't want to have to explain to any little kiddies why he was carrying a dead body into the school. He parked the car then opened the door and picked up Raven and started to carry her into the school. As soon as he stepped foot in the mansion he heard the telepathic thoughts of one Charles Xavier.

"Logan....why are you...never mind. Bring her to the lab, Hank and I will take it from there" Logan wasn't too sure what "take it from there" meant but he brought the woman's body to the lab anyway. When he walked in Charles was already waiting with Hank, both me looked up when Logan entered, they also both sighed when they saw the limp body he was carrying.

"Logan, I asked you to bring her back" Logan shrugged and put Raven down on a lab table.

"I did bring 'er back, you didn't mention if you wanted her alive" both Charles and Hank sighed deeply, the scientist looked up with an "are you shitting me" look.

"Really Logan? Really? Of course we wanted her alive we can't help her if she's dead! The whole reason Charles sent you to find her was to bring her here to help her.” Logan frowned a little shrugged, he didn’t like the outcome and he was sure Charles could pick that up in his thoughts but Hank was no telepath and he was annoyed by the dead body he had been presented with.

"What can I say? She attacked me first" Charles sighed and rolled his eyes, he made a motion towards the lab doors and spoke.

"Come on Logan, we can leave Hank with her to figure out what he can from her body, we aren't any help here" Hank waved absentmindedly at the two other as they left the lab. Immediately he started fussing over his lab equipment, he started taking skin samples from various parts of the woman's body and was starting with a rather difficult to take blood test when he suddenly found himself flat on his back with a furious and wild looking woman pinning him down.

"Where the hell am I? Do you work for Terry? I swear if that son of a bitch sent you after me I'll gut you and put your head on a stake!" Hank looked at his assailant with wide, surprised eyes. She had been dead only second before and now she's threatening to kill him. Raven frowned at Hank's confused look and cautiously touched her mind to his, Hank briefly recoiled at the anger, fear and pain he could feel radiating off of the small black haired woman. He cleared his throat and tried to appear non threatening.

"It's okay, my name is Hank McCoy, I work at Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, we had someone named Logan find you because Charles thought you could use some help......" Even though he was actually a little scared of this woman Hank kept his tone even and calm. His explanation seemed to work and Raven stood up.

"Logan? That ass hole attacked me." Hank nodded a little and started putting away his lab equipment.  
"yeah. I figured. If you don't mind me asking....you were dead just a few moments ago, how are you alive now?" Raven sighed and hopped up on the table she had previously been laying on.  
"It's my mutation, at least my natural mutation. Electrokinesis and advanced healing." Hank frowned feeling confused, one of the few times he could actually remember the feeling regarding a field of science.

"What do you mean by natural mutations?"

"Well, those two mutations developed like any regular mutations do. But my telepathy and telekinesis were.” Raven hesitated and swallowed thickly, not too sure how to continue. The memories were painful and she didn’t know if she could bring herself to talk about them. Hank frowned a little and spoke slowly, trying to be a comfort to the woman.

“You didn’t have to tell me if you don’t want to..... I can tell it’s hard....” raven shook her head and closed her eyes tightly before she started speaking.

“ For the past nine years I was kept by a human who loved to toy with mutants. He took the telekinesis and telepathy from other mutants and gave them to me. He said something about how I was an excellent "host" for mutations because of how well they adapted to my body." As she spoke Raven slowly became more and more closed off, by the time she finished speaking she was staring off into space and shaking a little. Hank moved forward slowly, the slight concern he felt for the woman prompted him to try and calm her.

"I don't think I got your name." Raven frowned a little and looked down at her hands before looking back up. For some reason she felt relaxed around this man, it made her feel like she could trust him.

"My name is Raven Night....you might have heard the name Oblivion before, that's what he called me at least." While Raven talked Hank had continued to walk closer, he kept a slow pace so he wouldn't startle her. By the time she had finished her short explanation he was standing beside her watching her with a half worried, half weary look.

"Well. Oblivion does sound a little familiar. I don't know who “he” is but I'm guessing you don't have warm feeling for him?" Raven shuddered a little and shook her head rapidly, a dark look of fear and anger clouding her features.

"He used me, and countless others as his own personal mutant army. I've spent seven years as a living weapon for that man. Seven years of my life I'll never get back, I was in collage when it happened....the man..his name is Terry...he had a woman who’d help him...and another man... Warlock...." Hank frowns and sighed softly.

"I'm sorry, I can't change the past but I know the school helps many other mutants who need a safe place." Raven sighed a little and murmured.

"I can't stay here, I've got a command code, a simple phrase that could show up in everyday conversation that turns me into a slave for whoever said it. And then only they can use my release code, anyone else who says it I will attack, it's a built in "safety" precaution"

"Well. If you know you what the phrases are you can write them down and maybe we can find a way to block them?" Raven frowned deeper then hesitantly nods.

"I suppose that might work, it's worth a shot" Hank smiled a little then went to get a piece of paper, just as he handed it to Raven the door to the lab opened and a blonde haired woman walked in.

"Hank, Charles said you were down here with some dead girl's body and I came to tell you that's no-" the other woman had finally caught sight of Raven and frowned.

"Hank, who' s ?" Hank smiled a little then chuckled. He motioned first to the blonde then to Raven.  
"Raven I'd like you to meet Raven" the blonde Raven frowned at the dark haired one then blinked a few times.  
"I see, when is she leaving?" Both Hank and the shorter woman frowned, the blonde watched as her counter part shuﬄed a little nervously.

"Oh I see. She's not leaving is she?" Hank shook his head a little and looked a little confused when the blonde suddenly turned blue, a look of slight anger painted on her features. The blue mutant turn d on her heel and quickly left the lab, the door slamming closed behind her. Raven recoiled from the angry movements and looked at Hank with a worried look.

"What did I do?" Hank just sighed and shrugged.

"I can honestly say I don't know" Raven just frowned and looked at the door to the lab wondering if it was a good idea after all.

 


	3. Chapter 2: settling down isn’t easy to do when you’re unsettled

 

It had been three days since Logan had brought Raven back to the school. She hadn't left the lab during those three days and because of that only Charles, Hank, Logan and the other Raven knew she was there. Hank had barely left the lab, he would leave once in the morning and once at night, each time he'd come back with food and drinks for the both of them to last until he left again. Raven felt terrible, the poor man was running himself ragged trying to figure out a way to avoid her command code from triggering.

The phrase was simple enough "kill the lights" in reference to her electrokinesis. Her release code wasn't something anyone would say in regular conversation "the hawk is mighty but the Raven is clever" the first time Raven heard those words she thought it was so ridiculous and stupid. Then she figured out that's exactly why it was like that, who would ever figure it out when it was so stupid. And even if they did figure it out their only reward was death.

By the third day Raven was about ready to tell Hank to give up, the scientist however would not be so easily dissuaded, he kept trying different solutions, each more desperate than the last. The poor man seemed to be running on coffee and wishful thinking. When the third night rolled around Raven walked up behind Hank and watched what he was typing, when the formulas started running together she spoke up.

"You should sleep." a head shake followed by more tapping on the keyboard was Hank's only response.

"Hank I'm serious. This isn't important right now, you look like a corpse." usually Raven would have avoided talking to Hank, meeting new people after the past six years never a good thing. It was best to avoid them and stay hidden. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she had a plan this time. All she needed was Hank to leave for five minutes, five minutes and she'd be gone. She wasn't needed here. And judging by the glares and snide comments the other Raven would direct towards she when she attempted to pull Hank from the lab, she wasn't wanted here either.

"Raven I'm okay, I don't need sleep right now, I need answers. I thought you'd be pushing me to finish this. Raven frowned, the words "but I'm not worth it" were right on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she swallowed thickly and tried again.  
  
"If you're dead on your feet you'll mess up, I'd rather not have more issues piled on top because you fell asleep while writing up an equation" Hank sighed a little and nodded.

"Alright, fine I'll sleep. But I'm staying down here okay? Charles still didn't have a room for you and I'm not leaving you here by yourself."

"Fine, fine. Stay down here and sleep on a lab table, they aren't exactly comfortable you know. You won't be comfortable." Hank frowned and looked over to the lab table Raven has previously been napping on. He looked back towards her and raised a brow.

"Is yours any more comfortable?" Raven snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I haven't slept on a bed in six years, where the mutants were kept was pretty much a dungeon. The labs and area were spotless but everything else was a mess. Compared to that a lab table is a feather bed." Hank chuckled then nodded.

"Okay. Fair enough, as long as you're okay with it I'll sleep in my room. I'll be back soon though." Raven forced a cheery smile and nodded before shooing Hank away.

"Go, go. I'll be fine here" Hank sighed and stood up, after making sure Raven was one hundred percent okay with him leaving, he left the lab. Raven waited alone in the lab for an hour before she peeked out of the lab to make sure no one was wondering around the halls. After triple checking she really was alone she walked into the main hallway and headed for the front entrance. Silent as a mouse she slowly opened it and slipped out, she placed a hand on the door and issued a small burst of telekinesis to jam it. It would take several hours or at least several super strong mutants to break through that. The dark haired woman cast one parting glance at the school, almost lamenting what might have been, she sighed heavily before squaring her shoulders and heading to the garage to hijack a car. The process was easy enough for her and barely even a minute later she was driving away from Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters.

She drove for hours, she knew that Hank would go back to the lab after maybe two hours of sleep, and once he found her missing she figured he'd start looking. As long as she could get some distance between her and the school she wouldn't be found. She constantly switched between highways and back roads trying to throw off anyone who might be following her. She drove for twelve hours straight before she stopped at an inn. She parked the car in the darkest corner of the parking lot before heading into the main lobby, she carefully hid her face from any security cameras then walked to the front desk. When she offered her hand to the man behind the desk he seemed delighted she wanted to stay, as soon as their hands touched Raven was in his mind a quick telepathic command she made him believe she had just payed for a room. He handed her the keys and she thanked him before heading down the hallway towards her room for the night.   
  
When she opened the door she went to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She sighed deeply and ran a hand through her hair. For a moment she considered cutting it, if she was on the run it made sense to change as much about her physical appearance as possible. After a moment of deliberation she decided against it, chances are no one would be looking for her anyway. She was just another mutant drawing on the resources that other, more important people could be using, they were probably glad to be rid of the "uncontrolled mutant".

Little did she know people were in fact searching for her, when Hank had returned to the lab to find her gone he had figured she went to explore the mansion while everyone was asleep. He waited half an hour before he started looking for her, it was nearing six o'clock on a Friday, students wouldn't be up for class for another hour or so, he still had time to find her before people started asking questions. After making a thorough sweep of the mansion and not finding any evidence of Raven he immediately went to Charles.

"Charles? Charles?!" Usually he wouldn't have woken Charles, immediately the telepath instantly knew something was wrong.

"Hank? What is it? What's wrong?" Hank made a hand gesture and sighed heavily.

"I can't find Raven anywhere, I wanted to talk to her and she wasn't in the lab. I looked all over the school and I just couldn't find her, I'm a little worried Charles" at first the professor thought Hank was speaking of their blue friend. After a confused moment he realized he was speaking about the new mutant, a deep frown etched itself onto Charles' face.

"Let's go down to Cerebro then, I'll try and find her that way" Hank nodded and followed Charles down to Cerebro, when the pair made it down to Cerebro Charles started his search. It didn't take him long to find a problem.

"Hank I can't find her, I can't even feel her mind." Hank frowned deeply.

"Which means?"

"I've never encountered this before, she's either dead-" Charles paused and looked over at Hank when the other mutant made a noise of denial, the black haired woman was already far too important to Hank for him to even think about her being dead. His more scientific side had another argument to cover up his feelings of course. "-or she's somehow blocked her mind from me....which would require immense training and strength" Hank frowned and nodded.

"She's not dead, remember Logan stabbed her through the stomach, she heals. She must be blocking you" Charles nodded and moved away from the machine. Hank sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"Why do you think she left? It seemed like things were starting to look up" it had only been three days but Hank was a ready starting to enjoy the other mutant's company, her sense of humour was dark but it wasn't unenjoyable, and while he was blabbing about the last this or the newest that. She didn't once tell him to stop rambling, she didn't understand it all but she'd just touch the back of his hand and read his mind to figure out the gist of what he was talking about.

Often times he'd look over to find her staring off into space and trembling, any time he saw her behaving like this he'd simply walk over and stand beside her then gently shake her. The first time he had attempted this she had sent a large voltage of electricity through him. He had dropped to the ground gasping for air, after realizing it was Hank and not her old tormentors Raven had moved over to him and looked him over to see if she had caused him any injury. After confirming he was alright Raven had moved back to where she was murmuring an apology. Hank was hoping that in the 72 hours she had spent at the mansion she had felt welcome enough to stay. Apparently he was wrong.

The pair looked up when the door to Cerebro opened and the blue Raven walked in, she paused in surprise when she saw Hank out of the lab, a smooth smile broke over her face and she happily chirped.

"Hank! You've finally left the lab. Did your little friend tell you to get out? Where is she anyway?" Hank sighed heavily, he knew of Raven's dislike of her black haired counterpart, he didn't know why the blue mutant disliked the other so much but he wasn't a fan of her behaviour.

"She's missing right now, that's why Charles and I are down here, we're looking for her." Raven pause for a moment then shook her head.

"Hank, just give up. She clearly doesn't want to be here, and it's not your duty to baby sit a troubled mutant." For some reason her words angered Hank, it was on the tip of his tongue to say something along the line of "we baby sit you" but he held his comment in. It was Charles who spoke up against Raven.

"That's enough Raven, we aren't baby sitting her. We're helping her recover, just like we help any mutant who comes here." The blue Raven scoffed and turned on her heel then stormed out leaving the two men alone to converse about how to find the missing woman. She walked down the hall with a stiff back, if they were so determined to find the other Raven she was going to make sure she was never found.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 3

Charles and Hank decided to ask Logan to help them find Raven. He had been on the run for years and it would take his practice with running and hiding from people to track the runaway mutant.

Trying to figure out what direction Raven would have run was their first task, the car she stole wasn’t much, just something Charles had purchased for bringing mutants back to the mansion. The gas tank was usually kept full so they had a good estimate on how far she could have gone in any direction. But choosing the wrong way to go would lose them precious time and would let Raven go further and she could slip between their fingers forever.

“I say we go south, see if she left some type of trail.” Hank didn’t know what made him suggest that direction but it felt right. That feeling of “this is the way” faded after they had driven for a few hours. They had stopped once or twice and asked around to see if anyone had seen a small black haired woman, this form of questioning had plenty of people suggesting young women, girls, or basically anyone who was short and had long black hair. Charles had suggested a few times they try and ask different questions but Hank had refused.

Hank knew that asking about her silver eyes could be dangerous. He knew that she was likely still being tracked by more than just them and anyone might purposely lead them down the wrong path or have their minds compromised by her captors, or even be working for them, or be them. He still had no clue what these people looked like so he couldn’t safe guard himself or his friends from them. This thought worried him immensely.

The only thing that made him more worried was the thought that perhaps raven had already been captured and was being tortured again. He released a small snarl at that thought, drawing the attention of the professor, Logan and the elderly lady they had been questioning. At the sound of the snarl the woman turned pale as a sheet and stuttered out that a woman with black hair had been seen leaving town in a sports car of some kind. She had made a bit of a scene with how fast she tore out of the small town. Immediately the men were excited by this news. This could be something, sure Raven would try her best to avoid causing a scene but when you’re running you don’t always focus on the small things.

“Thank you Ma’am it’s much appreciated.” Charles shot Hank a questioning look and wheeled towards the car. When they were far enough away Charles looked over his shoulder and frowned.

“Are you alright hank? That was effective but I don’t know if it was necessary.” Hank frowned just a little. He hadn’t wanted to cause a scene or scare the woman, the sound had just slipped out. He shrugged a bit and frowned.

“I didn’t mean to. I had some....disturbing thoughts about Raven and it just...it happened.” Logan snickered a bit and helped Charles into the car before he took his spot in the drivers side. Hank scowled a little at Logan before he sat in the back with Charles. The group of the took off again, this time in the new direction. They quickly found out that even scared and in the run Raven was excellent at laying false trails, they investigated four possible leads and each turned out to be dead. It was a stroke of luck someone remembered a “girl” with silver eyes. They were concerned a child was driving around. Hank was also concerned but for different reasons. If someone mistook her for a child and tried to stop her would have no choice but to stop them however she could. They had to find her before she could get into trouble.

It took them two days of almost none stop searching to find her. Holed up in the same dingy inn, they had been heading back to the school when they recognized the car raven had taken from the school, none of them could believe how close it was to the school. Only an hour drive and they had been searching further away figuring she would have run far. When they walked in Raven tensed then turned around gasping in surprise at their appearance.

"H-how did you find me?" The woman's wide silver eyes showed just how surprised she was that they had managed to track her. She frowns deeply and edged towards the window looking between her escape and the three mutants. Charles frowned and moved a little closer.

"Raven please don't leave again, we can help you. You just have to want it. We can figure something out to help you get past who you used to be. Please come back with us" all three male mutants were surprised when Raven started laughing.

"That's quite the speech Charles, maybe it would have worked if she was actually here" A second later they were staring at their blue friend.

 

 


	5. Chapter 4

After she left Charles and Hank Mystique decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. If they wanted the little black haired brat back so badly she'd make sure she was found, at least for a little while. She quickly left the school then found a car rental store and borrowed their fastest car. She wasn't interested in returning Raven to the boys, she just wanted to find her first.

It took Mystique a day to find her counterpart, she was just a little surprised that the other woman was camped so close to the mansion and was yet to be found by anyone. It was only an hour and a half drive from the school and yet here she was, camped out so close to the school that no one even thought to look there, after a person on the run logically wouldn’t stick so close to where they were running from. The blue mutant posed as a maid and walked into the room her smaller counterpart had payed for. As soon as the black haired woman saw the blonde she frowned.

"I'm not going back, you can go and tell Charles and Hank now. I don't care how much they think I can be helped, I'm broken and I'll only disappoint them, or hurt someone." The blonde scoffed and sat down at the desk in the room.

"Do you honestly think I'm here to bring you back? They're searching for you, but I honestly don't care. I'm here to make sure you don't come back." The smaller woman frowned and conjured bolts of electricity in her hands. Mystique scoffed again and shook her head.

"Charle and Hank would have my head if I tried that, what I mean is you go run off where ever you want to and I take your place. Then when they find "you" they'll stop searching for a while and you can disappear a little better." After a moments pause the other Raven nodded.

"Fine, you clearly don't want me back so I suppose your offer to help me run off is genuine." Mystique smirked a little and a second later there were two short, black haired, silver eyed women in the room. They stood starting at each other until one left the room, she took the rental car knowing Charles would want his car back eventually.

She drove until four or five miles had been put between her and the Inn then she purposely crashed the car into the nearest ditch, she banged her head off the steering wheel and took several moments to gain her wits about her again. Once everything stopped spinning she climbed out of the car and dashed for cover, it wouldn't take long for people to start calling in the accident and she didn't want to be taken into a hospital or police station. She had reached the fringe of a band of trees when she heard sirens. She looked back at the rapidly growing scene, already there were two police cars, an ambulance and a plethora of civilians.

Meanwhile, the other Raven was enjoying playing her role. When Charles, Hank and Logan had entered the room she had fallen into a surprised persona.

H-how did you find me?" The woman's wide silver eyes showed just how surprised she was that they had managed to track her edged towards the window looking between her escape and the three mutants. Charles frowned and moved a little closer.

"Raven please don't leave again, we can help you. You just have to want it. We can figure something out to help you get past who you used to be. Please come back with us" all three male mutants were surprised when Raven started laughing.

"That's quite the speech Charles, maybe it would have worked if she was actually here" A second later they were staring at their blue friend. A shocked Charles stuttered out.

"Raven?!" The blue woman smiled a bit then winked.

"You said you were looking for Raven. Well here I am." Charles frowned deeply, he knew there was some tension between the two women, for what reason he didn't know, it surprised him that the blue Raven would pull a trick like this.

"You know very well who we were looking for, now where is she?"

"I can honestly say I don't know where she went, after I came here she took off..." Charles sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. The telepath looked towards Logan and Hank and motioned to the door.  
  
"I'll take Raven home, you two keep looking for..well for Raven" Logan chuckled at the wording before motioning to Hank.

"Come on bub, we gotta get going..." Hank sighed then left with Logan to continue their search. Charles fixed his blue companion with a disapproving glare.

"I cannot believe you did that...why would you Raven?" Raven frowned and stormed past Charles refusing to answer his question. Charles sighed heavily and wheeled after her, not sure what was causing his oldest friend to form such a rivalry against the newest mutant but he wasn’t happy with the feud. He wanted to help the new woman but things seemed to be conspiring against it. With another heavy sigh and an equally heavy heart Charles got to the car and looked up at raven almost expectantly. The blue mutant hugged in exasperation before she helped her old friend into the car and got in the drivers side. She began the short car ride back to the mansion. The whole time she could feel Charles’ disapproving gaze and she was half annoyed with the telepath, but at the same time she was sad she had upset him.

By the time Logan and Hank had set out again, and Charles was taking raven back to the school the other Raven was safe, She managed to find a nice busy city to hide in, the constant movement of people would keep her hidden from most. She stopped by a fancy hotel and tricked the minds of the employees. After securing her room she sighed and settled down, she'd move after a few days but right now she was tired and needed a good night's sleep. She awoke in the night, startled by a telepathic blast, she was immediately alert. Not knowing if it was Charles or her old captors who had found her, she crept to the door and slowly cracked it open. Two employees were walking down the hall, each with a hand in her head. One sighed and mumbled, just soft enough that raven almost didn’t hear.

“I hate working so close to that damn mutant school. I’m glad they have a spot to live and all that but their powers....god, they can mess up daily life here.” The first woman’s companion nodded and grumbled something about how all mutants should be out down before the two disappeared from Raven’s hearing range. Now content knowing the telepathic blast was probably just a new student loosing control of their powers raven crawled back into her bed and closed her eyes

Raven managed a full week of luxury living, good food, good sleep and full bathroom facility. She had spent years without a bathtub or even a sink, just a small room with a single toilet. But now she could spend hours on end soaking in the warm soapy water of a bath. She knew she had spent too much time here. The school was so close by and if anyone thought of looking close to home she’d be found, but the comfort of having everything she needed was too much to pass up. She wasn’t ready to go back on the roads again. A mistake she would soon regret.

She had gone down to the dining room for another meal before tensing when she saw the back of a man's head. She could recognize the style, length and colour of his hair and instantly she started creeping out of the room. He was one of her old tormentors, someone who had often taken great pleasure in her helplessness. Both when she was sent out to fight someone and when he'd come to her cell at night and have his way with her. She was surprised she had never gotten pregnant by him with how often he had taken advantage of her. Terry was another matter of course. But she didn’t dwell on those thoughts. She didn’t have the time now, and even if she did they were far too painful.

The man was named Warlock, he could manipulate mutations and he'd taken great joy in using Raven's against her. She was supposed to fight him a week after she left. It was a driving force behind her escape, the man was known to kill any mutant he fought, no one returned after fighting him. The terror of knowing he could actually kill her made her run. Only to attempt to take her own death once she realized how deadly she could be to anyone. After escaping to her room she quickly started throwing the things she was planning on stealing into a bag, she didn't make it far before the door to her room was blown off its hinges and a dark voice spoke.

"HEEEERE'S JOHNNY!"

  
Logan and Hank continued their search for another week before Logan decided it was useless, they weren't going to find the missing mutant unless she wanted to be found. With a sigh and a disappointed feeling Hank agreed that this wasn't getting them anywhere. The duo stopped at a hotel for the night, the hotel they chose to stay at was only a forty five minute drive to the mansion but Hank was insistent that they stay overnight somewhere. Logan suspected it was to postpone the inevitable realization that they had lost someone, it wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last but neither one wanted to tell Charles they had lost the mutant they were supposed to find. When they had time to collect their thoughts and, in Hank’s case, place some of the blame for the missing mutant on himself, they'd head back to the mansion and tell Charles the news.

They had almost reached the main desk when a large chunk of the ceiling crashed down a few paces from them, in the wreckage stood the very woman they were looking for, she looked around in panic and when she spotted them she dashed towards them.

"Run! Run we have to run!" Hank frowned but listened, as soon as the blacked haired woman reached the two of them he turned to leave. Logan however seemed to think whatever threat she was running from was something he could handle, he faced the spot where the chunk of the ceiling was. From the hole it had left, Warlock started descending, a wicked smirk pained on his face. He raised his hand towards Logan and chuckled.

"You're going to die for a woman who doesn't even want your help." Warlock raised a hand to steal Wolverine's powers when a bolt of electricity hit him, followed by three more and a scream from Raven.

"RUN YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!" 


	6. Chapter 5

 

"RUN YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!"

Logan frowned and turned to run, Raven focused and cast a large electrical field between the three mutants and Warlock. Once she was finished with that she quickly caught up to the fleeing men, she knew it would take Warlock mere moments to escape the electrical field but she intended to make those few seconds count.  
When they were just feet from the door a large tremor shook the ground almost unbalancing them, Raven used her telekinesis to keep them upright and running, any slip up in this getaway would mean their deaths, and it wouldn't be simple and quick either, Warlock liked to torture his victims. She knew that she'd be valued enough by the man Warlock worked for that she'd be brought back alive, but injured and too weak to run again. Hank and Logan however wouldn't stand a chance against Warlock, she had to get them out of this hotel. Once they got outside Raven started a car with a burst of telekinesis and directed the two men towards it.

"Get in and get going. He's not after you, as soon as you're gone he'll forget you even exist" Hank skidded to a halt and turned around.

"Hold on, if he's after you, won't he follow?" Raven sighed and shoved the tall mutant towards the car and turned to face the hotel.

"No he won't, I'm staying here." Hank grabbed Raven's arm and tried to pull her towards the car, she fought back she was surprisingly strong for someone who was a foot shorter than him and fighting against his strength as well. Hank frowned and tugged on her arm again. He wouldn’t leave anyone alone to face that mutant. Much less someone he had found himself feeling responsible for.

"Raven we can't leave you, it's not right. Please come with us."

"Hank, I'd love to but this would spell your death. Now go!" Logan peeked out from the driver side window and casually piped up.

"Y'know....the professor has a barrier around the school grounds. If we get back to the school you'll just disappear...." Raven hesitated and looked towards the hotel which was slowly crumbling from Warlock's escape attempts.

"Fine! But you drive fast and we drive until we get to the school. If Warlock shows up on our way or he shows up at the school, you let me go with him okay?" Hank looked hesitant but nodded and pushed Raven into the car before climbing in. Logan took off just as the hotel crumbled inwards and Warlock flew out, Raven focused on keeping her mind and the minds of Hank and Logan shielded from Warlock's own. Hank looked like he wanted to say something but the expression on the woman's face stopped him.

Her training in mental blocking and defence had been extensive and effective. She didn't know the extent of her own power, while her telepathy might not affect anyone unless she touched them, she did block the most powerful telepath in the world, that almost instantly ranked her amongst the most powerful telepathic minds around. Which was odd, after all her telekinesis and telepathy weren't even her own to begin with. She remembered the two mutants who had been dubbed too weak to fight in Terry's mutant army.

The first was a little boy, barely twelve, while he was young his powers of telekinesis were strong, Terry had initially taken him in hopes the strong mutation could be harnessed. Unfortunately the boy was unable to handle Terry's harsh means of breaking mutants and had slipped into a near coma like state to protect himself. When it was evident he wouldn't wake up Terry had medically stripped the boy's mutation, the medical removal of his X-Gene had caused his body to shut down, after three days of watching the boy waste away Raven had been given a serum developed by Terry, it would force the boy's X-Gene to bind to Raven's giving her the boy's mutation.

The second ,the original owner of her telepathy, was a twenty-six year old woman. Terry had found her through Warlock, her mutation was still dormant but the potential was incredible. When Terry's attempts to bring out the mutation failed, the telepath was also medically stripped of her powers. When they were transferred to Raven she had already spent two years in the compound, the telepath's mutation had adapted beautifully to Raven's system and after a brief but intense training session with her new powers she became Terry's new favourite toy. She spent five more years in that place before she escaped, which lead up to the events of today.

Raven could feel the aggressive mental assault when Warlock passed over her mind and the minds of Logan and Hank, there was a brief pause and he seemed to focus on her for a moment, she cracked down on her concentration and started forming fake memories, names, relations. In a snap she and the two men were mentally unrecognizable, the ploy seemed to work and Warlock passed over them, behind them there was a short frustrated howl.

"OBLIVION!! YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME!" Raven trembled at the force and volume of the shout, Hank glanced at her worriedly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, you'll be safe, we just have to get back to the mansion" Raven nodded stiﬄy and refocused on the mental trickery. Logan glanced at her through the rear view mirror and pressed his foot a little harder to the gas peddle.

"Can you make it back to the mansion Bub?" Raven nodded again looking a little distracted.

"I'll make it if you shut up and drive, don't stop for anything and I should be able to hold it." Logan nodded and focused on the road again, Hank glanced out of the window watching the spot where they had left Warlock behind. The worry he felt for the small, blacked haired woman coupled with the stress of searching for her and the adrenaline from their escape has his skin prickling with a familiar burn, he tried to hold back the change he could feel coming but that only added to the burning sensation. It only took a small bump in the road to break his focus. With a small roar Hank's body shook and he sprouted the blue fur, fangs and claws he was so often ashamed of.

The now furry, blue mutant was surprised when his roar didn't phase Raven, Logan jumped and swore but she remained focused on her task. Hank watched her with a confused expression before he turned his attention to scanning the area for any signs someone might jump out at them.

It only took thirty minutes to reach the school but to Hank it felt like years. When the car finally started pulling up to the school Raven could feel the barrier Charles had put up wash over her like a relaxing wave. Immediately she released her hold on both Hank and Logan, with a small sigh she collapsed back against the seat of the car. She closed her eyes and immediately fell into a light sleep, the last few days of running from people finally catching up to her, Logan parked the car and opened the back door.

"You go tell the professor we're back, I'll bring her in....y’know, this could have gone faster if you knew how to drive. Then we could have split up and looks for her." Hank sighed deeply at the statement from Logan, he knew it was true but he didn’t feel like talking about it right now. The blue man nodded and opened his door then moved into the mansion, he headed towards Charles' study and knocked. After hearing Charles call him in he opened the door.

"We found her Charles, she weak, and she'll need rest, but I don't think this will have any lasting physical effects." Charles nodded and looked up from his papers.

*I would have had a room chosen for her, I reasoned that putting her with a roommate might not be a wise idea, unfortunately we don't have any single rooms left. So, she'll have to bunk up with one of the staff.." Charles left his papers and rolls up to Hank.

"Right now she's most familiar with myself and Logan. She could stay with one of us..." Charles nodded slowly then turned his chair and looked out of the window.

"Do you mind? She spent the most time with you in the lab, and her first encounter with Logan ended with her dead. I think you'll be a friendlier face..." Hank shuﬄed nervously but nodded, he could handle a beautiful woman sharing his room until she got her own or moved in with another woman. Or at least that's what Hank started repeating to himself. In all honestly the woman intimidated him, she was clearly a strong fighter, even for her tiny stature, she was skilled with using her mutations in a fight and she clearly had no issues about using her strengths if she wanted to leave.

"Thank you Hank. Keep Miss Night comfortable for now, we can figure out more later" with a stiff nod Hank sighed and left the professor's office then headed to the lobby, when he saw Logan with Raven still sleeping in his arms he gulped then headed over.

"I can take her now, the professor wants her to stay in my room." For a moment Logan's face set into a snarl before he relaxed and carefully transferred the sleeping woman to Hank. The lanky brunette started heading towards his room when a sleepy mumble made him look down.

"Lemme get this straight...you can design, build and fly a jet.....but a car is hard?" Hank flushed under the gaze of Raven's amused silver eyes, he ducked his head trying to avoid her playful look.  
"Well, all those things were necessary for my career. Driving a car was less important, I can do it, just not well." Raven laughed softly then yawned.

"Don't worry genius boy, I'll teach you how to drive...." Hank chuckled softy at the tone of Raven's voice. The genius opened the door to his room and walked in, only having just decided Hank and Raven would be sharing a room meant Raven didn't have a bed set up yet. Hank sighed softly before gently setting Raven on the bed. When he tried to move away Raven scowled a little and murmured.

"No, stay...." Were she fully awake she wouldn't have dared ask such a thing, but in her half asleep state the warmth and security she felt when both Hank and Logan were holding her made her feel the safe and comfortable and she wasn't ready to give that up yet. Hank looked a little nervous but he climbed into the bed anyway, Raven smiled softly and curled up closer before falling asleep completely. Hank stayed up for several more minutes and just watched her, a sense of peace at having her back at the mansion settled over him, joined by a fierce protective instinct reared up.

He'd do everything he could to make sure she was safe, if that meant spending hours in the lab figuring out how to break her codes so be it, if it even meant hiding her away, erasing her memories of her time spent as a weapon, even if it meant taking her place so be it, he would not let her be used again.


	7. Chapter 6

When Raven woke up a few hours later she momentarily panicked, the darkness and her inability to move made her fear that she was recaptured. A sleepy murmur drew her attention behind her, she sighed in relief when she saw Hank's brown hair. She frowned a little when her stomach growled noisily causing Hank to murmur and momentarily tighten his hold on the tiny woman, she laughed softly then just as carefully wiggled out of his grasp. The bespectacled man murmured again and snorted causing Raven to freeze in her tracks, he grumbled a bit before falling back into a relaxed state. Raven smiled and laughed softly again then tip toed from the room. Once she was out of the room and the door was closed behind her she stretched then hummed in pleasure when her muscles and bones lost the tension from the past few weeks.

She made her way towards the kitchen, when she walked in she was surprised to see a man with his head in the fridge. She froze and squeaked a little, the man stood up revelling a head of blonde hair, when he turned around Raven took note of his muscular build and sharp blue eyes, the tiny woman shifted nervously and glanced towards the kitchen door. The man frowned a bit and spoke.

"Are you a new student? Why are you up?" Raven formed a bit and crossed her arms.

“I am not a student! I'm 26 years old! Not that it's any of your business but I'm up because I'm hungry.” The blonde man chuckled and leaned against the kitchen counter.

” Can I ask your name? I'm Alex, Alex Summers. They call me Havok to...with a K not a C.” Raven chuckled a little bit and raised a brow.

“Trying to be hipster? Spelling Havok with a K? My name is Raven Night.......” Raven took a deep breath before murmuring.

“I've also been called Oblivion.....” Alex frowned a bit before his head snapped up and he glared at Raven causing the black haired woman to recoil from him after catching sight of the anger in his gaze.

“..... Y’know..... When I was deployed we were sent after an elusive enemy agent. We didn't know anything about them, the leak we heard sounded too good to be true. Which I guess it was, when we got to the spot, someone was waiting for us. We didn't stand a change, they tore through us like we were tinfoil. They even resisted my plasma rings, with electricity. Before I blacked out I heard someone say 'that's enough Oblivion'...was that you?" Raven swallowed thickly and nodded, she remembered each mission she had been sent on. While faces of people she fought often blurred together from the sheer number she tried her best to remember who they were as well.

"I-I'm sorry..... I... I didn't mean to, or want to... I was being controlled... I had no choice..." Raven sniffled a little, her remorse for what she had done was over powering, and the biggest reason she had tried so much to take her own life. Alex regarded her with a cold look, after a moment he returned to his friendlier personality.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Raven looked around for a piece of paper and wrote done her codes then passed it to Alex.

"The first one puts me in a trance, the second one releases it....please don't make me do anything to hurt anyone..." It was a risk for Raven to give a random person her codes but she trusted Alex for some reason, and she wanted to prove her words were true. Alex raised a brow and looked down at the paper.

"Okay, um, kill the lights?" Immediately Raven's face went blank and she froze in place, Alex looked up at her and jumped in surprise at her expression.

"Uh, okay, that's weird. What can I make you do?" Raven blinked a few times before answering, when she spoke her voice was emotionless and flat and sounded like someone else completely.

"I will do whatever you want me to, sir." Alex frowned a bit then shrugged.

"Okay...make me a sandwich?" Raven's face remained emotionless and she stayed silent while she carried out the order, Alex frowned a bit and shuddered.

"Okay, I believe you. That is creepy" Raven didn't respond to the blonde man's words she just turned around with the sandwich in her hands, just as she offered it to him there was a dull thud from upstairs. Alex looked up with a small frown and murmured.

"I wonder what that was." Raven tilted her head a little then walked over to stand in a defensive stance in front of Alex. Part of her coding made her automatically protect the person who put her under, if there was a threat she'd act as a living shield. Whoever or whatever caused the crash from upstairs quickly made it's way to the ground floor. There was a blue blur that rushed past the kitchen before skidding to a halt and turning to rush into the kitchen. It was Hank, and he looked equal parts angry and worried.

"Raven! Raven you shouldn't leave like that, I thought you ran away again!" Hank stopped in   
front of the small woman and huffed a bit, the poor guy was covered in blue fur again, his worry when he awoke to find Raven missing had caused him to go Beast again. When he noticed Raven's blank expression his fur rippled and stood on end, and a low threatening growl built in his chest.

"Who did This? Alex did you see who did this to her?" Alex laughed sheepishly and looked down at the paper in his hands.

"Oh I hope this works. The hawk is mighty but the Raven is clever. Who the hell thought of that?" A small shudder ran through Raven and she massaged her forehead before muttering.

"A psychotic fuck, that's who thought of that." Both Alex and Raven looked up when Hank snarled angrily and glared at Alex, his fur was still puffed up, Raven had to hide a small giggle at Hank's appearance. He looked like a giant puff ball instead of the intimidating mutant she suspected he was trying to be.

"You did that to her? What the heck Alex?!" Another low growl started budding and Raven exchanged a look with Alex before she put a hand on Hank's chest.

"Easy there Hank, I told him to. Turns out I messed with him and his squadron and I wanted to prove I wasn't lying." Hank huffed and glared at Alex for a moment longer. Raven looked up at Hank then moved her hand to tap his, when he looked down at her she smiled and offered her hand.

"Come on you giant blue kitten, let's get something to eat, it's the whole reason I woke up." Hank hesitated a second before he took Raven's hand, he looked down at her hand in his and noted how small and dainty it seemed compared to his large blue claws. Alex sat down at the counter and started pointing to the different cupboards.

"Okay, so, snacks are in there, plates and bowls are in there, glasses, mug and cups there, cutlery is in that drawer there." Raven smiled and nodded before heading to the fridge to find something to eat. She continued her search using telekinesis and her free hand to push things aside. After a while she pouted and sighed.

"You'd think in a school someone would have some type of junk food!" Hank raised a brow at the woman's small outburst. Alex snickered a bit and looked up from his sandwich.

"First let me say that this is terrific. Second, what type of snacks are you looking for? Kids like to hide their snacks because other people steal them." Raven sheepishly shuffled at the slightly pointed look Alex shot her. She looked down then looked back up.

"Um...if you know where some smarties are I'd like to have some." Alex chuckled a bit and stood up, he walked over to a drawer and reached into the back, he pulled out a blue box of candies and handed it to Raven. The black haired woman was clearly excited about the candy coated chocolates. Alex snickered a bit then sat back down to eat his sandwich. Raven eagerly tore into the box and poured some of the candy in the air, she caught them with telekinesis and then moved them to her mouth. When she realized she was still holding Hank's hand she quickly released it and muttered an apology, Hank frowned a little, he was rather enjoying the feel of her hand in his, Alex snickered a little and looked between the two of them before going back to his sandwich.

"So, Raven. You're staying? Have you met the other Raven yet? She left a few hours ago so if you haven't met her you'll have to wait." Raven scowled and huffed a bit and angrily munched on her smarties.

"Yes I have, she seems to hate me for some reason. I don't know why though." Alex had a pretty good inkling on what was causing the rivalry. Raven was pretty, kinda adorable and she was clearly tough, Alex could see how protective Hank was of her already. It was easy enough go for him to see that the sometimes blond mutant was jealous of the newcomer and Hank's obvious interest in her. Alex didn't voice any of this, he simply shrugged and stood up.

"I don't know why she doesn't like you. You seem like a cool person. Anyway, I'm heading back to bed, it was nice to meet you Raven." Alex smiled and added a little wink in, as he walked by Hank and Raven he heard a soft warning snarl from his furry friend, he just chuckled softly as he left the kitchen and headed back to his room. Just after Alex left Raven yawned and quickly tried to cover it up, unfortunately for her Hank spotted it immediately.

"Come on, you're still tired. We can sleep for a few more hours okay?" Raven looked like she was about to argue, however Hank raised a brow and crossed his arms looking surprisingly stern. Raven sighed softly at the look in Hank's yellow eyes, she nodded a bit and quickly ate the last few smarties.

"Alright, let's go back to sleep." Hank smiled and nodded then put a hand on Raven's shoulder and lead her back to his room. Once they reached the room Raven crawled back into the bed and patted the spot next to her. When Hank raised a brow at her eagerness she simply shrugged.

"You're comfy, it's the fur. You're like a giant stuffed animal... I used to have a lot of them when I was younger, it's comforting." Hank sighed softly and nodded before climbing in beside her and letting her get as close as she wanted. It was only a few more hours until dawn but Hank was going to enjoy the time he could spend with Raven cured up against him. He sighed softly and looked down at her, he was only a little started to find her asleep already, after all she was still recovering from the last few weeks and he suspected she'd be sleeping a lot to catch up. The blue mutant hesitated a moment before pulling Raven even closer to him, he buried his furred face in her hair and murmured.

"Sleep well little one, I'll keep you safe from now on." Hank sighed and bit his lip before kissing the top of her head. A self satisfied smile spread over his face and he settled down letting Raven use him as a living pillow until the sun rose a few hours later.

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 7

A few hours later when the sun finally did peek over the horizon Hank was still wide awake. He had been running his claws gently through Raven's hair for what could have been four or more hours, he didn't know. He just knew he was feeling something strange and new and he wasn't entirely sure he liked the feeling. It made his stomach clench and his head spin, he was starting to wonder if maybe he was sick, maybe a student had caught something and there was a bug going around the school. He was busy going over his symptoms when a groggy sigh pulled him back to the present.

"That feels nice." The voice startled Hank and his body jerked a little, a small giggle sounded from Raven and she looked up at him. Her silver eyes caught the light streaming in from the window and Hank's breath caught momentarily at the way they shone. The blue scientist stammered for a moment trying to remember what words were and how they worked, when Raven laughed softly at his stuttering the poor man blushed heavily and gave up. For the first time he could remember he was grateful for the thick coat of blue fur covering his body, Raven couldn't see the massive blush he was sporting and he could pass off his sweating palms as overheating. Which is just what the panicked mutant attempted to do.

"R-Raven...if you don't mind I have to go do-" for a moment Hank froze, he quickly coughed and started again "-something for Charles, top secret school stuff...so uh, I have to go now" Raven frowned a little but nodded and shimmied away from Hank. Hank sighed softly at her frown and forced himself to get out of the bed.

"I'll be back later today, or you could come down to the lab if you wanted." Hank internally cursed himself for the hopeful note in his voice. Raven grinned from his bed and nodded, her actions had Hank shaking his head to clear it of the thoughts starting to creep in, the poor man was already in over his head and he hadn't even classified the feelings he was having.

"I think I'll come down later, I'll bring you some lunch if you want me to." Hank sighed softly and nodded.

"I'd appreciate that, I won't remember on my own" Raven smiled and stretched, the movement made her shirt ride up just a little, it was more than enough for Hank's keen gaze to spot the now exposed skin, he covered up his small growl with a cough and attempted to leave the room with a semblance of normalcy. Raven's voice stopped him from leaving the room for another moment.

"Alright, it's settled. I'll come visit you and bring you lunch. Oh, thank you for letting me take up your bed." Hank smiled a little and nodded, he muttered something about it being no problem before he left the room. On his way to the lab he ran into Alex, the blonde man nudged Hank and snickered.

"So, a little wheelchair bound bird told me that the lovely Raven is staying in your room. And I happen to know there's only one bed in there. If that's uncomfortable for you guys I don't mind giving up my bed, it's too soft most nights anyway." Hank frowned a little and shook his head, he detested the idea of Alex and Raven sleeping in the same room.

"I-it's fine. She doesn't seem to mind sharing and neither do I. No need to give up your bed" Alex nodded a bit then snickered again, he accompanied this snicker with an eyebrow wiggle.

"You like her don't you? Last night when I winked at her you growled at me. What is it with you and women named Raven? Does she know yet? Is that why she doesn't mind sharing a bed? Y'all bumping nasties?" A snarl worked its way out of Hank's throat and his glare caused Alex to smirk widely.

"I growled because she's new, she's scared and she doesn't need you trying to get your paws on her. We are not "bumping nasties" as you put it, I'm looking out for someone who needs a friend." Alex just looked at Hank with a raised brow.

"You're a terrible lier Hank, anyone can see you're interested in her. Well, anyone but you, and I'm suspecting she's oblivious too." Hank sighed softly and rubbed at his eyes then nodded.

"Okay, okay, I like her, but don't tell her. I don't want her to be weirded out. She's been here, at the school less than a full week. That's not significant amount of time to start developing, whatever these are."

"I think the term you're looking for is crush, they can pop up quickly. It might not even turn into anything serious" Hank nodded a bit and sighed, now that his furry coat wasn't needed he let himself change back to his human form, the fur retreated back causing him to shiver at the uncomfortable feeling. He stopped by the lab and jerked his thumb towards the door.

"I'm heading in here. I'm guessing you're off to do something else so I'll see you later." Alex nodded and held up his phone.

"My parents called, apparently there's something up at home, so I'm gonna go see what I can do." Hank nodded and walked into his lab, Alex did a half wave then headed to his car. The blonde put on a pair of sunglasses before tearing out of the school's grounds. Hank shook his head a little then went back to his last project, finding a way to prevent Raven's codes from working on her. The scientist quickly lost himself in his work, he had several theories set aside but none of them seemed to have a solid chance of working properly. The more theories he discarded the angrier and more frustrated he grew with the remaining ideas.

True to his word Hank had forgotten when it was time to eat, Raven came by the lab around noon with a sandwich and some coffee. She knocked on the door and waited, she wasn't surprised when Hank didn't answer her, she already knew how invested he got with his work and she hadn't actually been expecting an answer. She carefully walked into the lab, a soft laugh escaped her when she saw Hank bent over his table scowling at the screen of his computer. Raven walked over to the table and set Hank's lunch down, she walked to stand behind him and peered over his shoulder then muttered.

"What 'cha doing?" Hank was so caught off guard by Raven's voice that he jumped and snarled before he realized who it was. Raven laughed softly and patted his cheek.

"I brought you lunch like I said I would, it's a grilled cheese and I brought you some black coffee. I hope you like black coffee, I didn't know what to put in it." Hank relaxed and smiled softly, he picked up the sandwich and took a bite before taking a sip of the coffee. He hummed a bit and nodded in approval.

"Not bad, the grilled cheese taste a bit..different, but it's not bad." Raven grinned and poked Hank sending a small shock through him, making his hair stand on end.

"That's because I used my own little cooking twist. That stupid stove wouldn't work for me so I gave up." Hank laughed softly in amusement and took another bite of the sandwich, he hadn't realized how hungry he was until he had taken the first bite, it made sense though, he had skipped breakfast after all. Raven grinned looking rather pleased with the fact he was eating, she perched on the lab bench and kicked her feet.

"So, what are you working on now?" Hank smiled sheepishly and pointed to his computer.

"Same as last time. Trying to figure out a way to break your code for you. I'm sorry but I really can't find anything that's working." Raven sighed softly then shrugged.

"It's okay, it's not a big deal really. I'll figure something out. Thank you for trying so hard, it mea-" Raven frowned and cut herself off when she heard a commotion out in the hall, Hank frowned and took a half step closer to Raven. While she had more combat training and could clearly hold her own against bigger and stronger mutants he still wanted to keep her safe. He was preparing to turn blue for the third time in two days when the lab doors opened and in walked Alex, he had his arm around a boy who was maybe sixteen or seventeen. The boy had dark brown hair and his eyes were covered with bandages.

"Hey, Raven. Glad to see you're out and about. Hank, and I suppose Raven too. I'd like you to meet my brother, Scott." Scott waved from Alex side, a small frown was etched in his face. Raven tilted her head then hopped off the lab bench.

"Hi Scott. My name is Raven. If you could see you'd probably ask me if I'm a student, let me tell you now that I am not." Scott laughed a bit and reached a hand out trying to touch Raven.

"I'd think you were a student huh? How short are you then?" Raven scowled and crossed her arms, at the same moment Scott's hand came in contact with her head. The teenager laughed again and tried to gauge her height from where his hand was.

"I'm five foot one. Don't you dare make fun of me, kid or not I'll kick your ass." Alex laughed a bit and clapped Scott on the shoulder. Hank eventually made his way over to met Scott, he frowned a bit and looked towards Alex.

"Why does he have those bandages? Did he hurt his eyes?" Alex frowned and shook his head, Scott snuffled a bit and scratched at the bandages clearly wanting them removed.

"His mutation showed, he's got plasma blasts like mine. Only his come from his eyes, and they don't stop. We were going to see Charles but I wanted to come see if maybe you can figure something out to help."

"Well, let's go to Charles. Once I get a better look at his mutation I can try to figure something out." Alex smiled a bit and made a waving hand motion towards the door. Hank sighed a bit and rolled his eyes before walking from the lab and towards where Charles was teaching. When the wheelchair bound mutant saw Alex with Scott he stopped the lesson and wheeled towards them.

"Who's this Alex?" Alex grinned proudly and clapped Scott on the shoulder.

"This is my brother, Scott." Charles smiles brightly and tilted his head towards Scott.

"Hello, Scott. Welcome to the school for the gifted." Scott scoffed and shoved his hand into his pocket looking like a stereotypical moody teen.

"Yeah. It doesn't exactly feel like a gift." Charles sighed softly and his voice became slightly softer.

"It never does, not at first." Charles wheeled past the small group them motioned for them to follow him. Alex gently steered Scott down the hall after Charles, Hank smiled softly and motioned for Raven to go before him. Together the five mutants made their way outside. Charles lead them along side a pond and started speaking again.

"The first step in understanding one's power is learning the extent of it. Only then, can we begin the process of teaching you how to control it." Charles turned his chair slightly and parked it, the four other mutants spread out around the chair and waited for him to continue.

"If you do decide to stay, I can promise you that by the time you are done here you'll be able to go back into the world and play a stable productive part in it. Why don't you take your bandages off and we can have a look at what we're dealing with here. Alex, would you line him up. Face him in the right direction as it were." Charles pointed to an archery target that just moments before a red haired girl was practicing her skills. Raven saw her watching them but didn't say anything about it, the girl had as much right to watch them as they had to be there.

"There's a target just across the water. When you open your eyes, try and hit that." Alex helped Scott take off his bandages, the brunet boy shifted nervously and his eyes fluttered.

"You can open your eyes, Scott. There's nothing to be afraid of. It's quite...." Charles' gentle tone coaxed Scott to open his eyes, immediately after he did two bright red blasts of plasma hit the water. Raven jumped a bit and yelped in shock, she wasn't the only one either. Hank took a half step back looking surprised, Charles shielded his eyes from the bright glow and even Alex took a step backwards. Scott tried to direct the beams to the target but his mutation was too powerful, the beams continued, hitting a tree and slicing right through it. With an ominous creaking sound the tree split in half and collapsed. Charles chuckled softly and sniffed.

"My grandfather planted that tree when he was 5 years old. I used to swing from the branches myself. I think that was probably my favourite tree." Scott had a bit of an amused expression on his face, but after years of putting on a happy face and trying to face the day Raven saw right past his mask. Scott was afraid of what he could do, he was afraid he'd be too dangerous for people, that he'd hurt someone with his powers.

"Does that mean I'm expelled?" Charles smiled and shook his head looking positively exhilarated.

"On the contrary. You're enrolled" Scott smiled a little and turned to try and find Alex. The blonde quickly handed Scott his bandages.

"Why don't we find you a room? You'll need one if you're staying." Scott smiled a little and nodded. Alex wrapped his arm back around Scott's shoulder and started to lead him back into the mansion to find a room. Charles turned his head to Raven and smiled.

"We've seen one display of power today, would you mind showing me what you can do?" Raven frowned a bit and shifted, after her escape she avoided her power as much as possible. She looked a bit unsure but when Hank gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder she nodded.

"Okay" she sighed softly before turning to face the tree Scott had blasted through. With a small sigh she focused, slowly but surely the tree lifted up and it's halves rejoined seamlessly. Raven gently placed the tree back on the ground letting it fall apart again, after a quick glance towards Charles and Hank Raven pointed at the pond and shot a bolt of electrical energy into it. The pond glowed and several small jagged bolts of electricity jumped off its surface Raven held out a hand and waved it, the energy jumped from the pond into her outstretched hands and then jumped from her to the house. For a moment everything glowed then died out.

"Is that what you wanted to see?" Charles smiles and nodded excitedly, the man looked more like a child waking up on Christmas than he did a teacher. He grinned a bit and held up his fingers.

"I just want to see your mental capabilities, I'm going to read Hank's mind then I want you to block me." Hank frowned a bit and glanced at Charles wearily, he barely had a moment before Charles was in his mind. The telepath sent him a reassuring thought and promised not to invade in anything private. Hank had just adjusted to Charles' presence in his mind when he felt Raven touch his hand and suddenly her mind flooded his, her mental touch was slightly melodious which surprised him, he had expected her mind to match her personality, strong and slightly stoic. This look into her mind made him wonder if maybe there was more she was hiding from him. The gentle presence of Raven's mind spread like a warm blanket around his, he could feel Charles being pushed from his conscious it didn't take long for Raven to completely shield his mind from Charles.

"That is..wow that’s just amazing, bravo Raven. Well done" Raven smiled softly at the praise, she had never truly been praised for her abilities, just the destruction her abilities caused. Hank looked down at Raven and smiled at her expression, he couldn't stop himself from purring softly. Raven paused then looked up at Hank with a wide smile.

"Oh my gosh! That is adorable!" Hank blushed heavily and scratched the back of his head, he ducked his head in embarrassment and tried to hide the fact he was blushing. Charles laughed a little then started rolling his way back towards the school. Once he saw Charles starting to leave Hank panicked. He looked down at Raven and shifted.

"Hey. Do you mind if I go back to the lab? I've got to work on your codes and now something to help Scott." Raven shook her head and waved towards the school.

"Go ahead, go be a busy scientist bee. I'll come get you from the lab when it's time to sleep." Hank smiled softly and nodded, his heart beat a little faster when he remembered he and Raven still had to share a bed. Hank opened his mouth momentarily, something was just on the tip of his tongue, he suddenly decided it was wiser to stay silent. He whirled around the quickly hurried into the school. Raven smiled a bit and watched him go, mistaking his fleeing for excitement to get back to work. Once Hank had left her sight Raven headed into the forested area around the school, she was curious about the school grounds and she decided to explore them. Raven spent several hours just walking around and exploring the school and the grounds. She was careful about staying within the school's protective barrier. When she noticed the sun was beginning to set she headed to the lab, as expected Hank was hunched over a lab table working on something. Raven tapped on the door and cleared her throat. Hank jumped and spun around to look at her with wide eyes.

"Is it dark already? I've only been working for a few minutes" Raven laughed softly and shook her head.

"Yeah, it's dark out. You've been working for several hours. If you want to keep working I'll bring you some coffee then I think I'll go to sleep, today was another exciting day. Hank smiled and nodded agreeing to Raven's proposition. The small woman disappeared then returned several moments later with a large mug of coffee. After making sure Hank was all set with his work and the coffee Raven went upstairs to his room, she barely even hit the bed before she was sound asleep. She was sleeping so soundly that she missed the tremor that rocked the school, the excited chatter from outside the room was also lost on her. She didn't even stir when Hank eventually walked into the room and lay beside her. She was one hundred percent oblivious to the world outside her dreams, as well as the events tomorrow would bring. 


	9. Chapter 8

When Raven awoke the next morning Hank wasn't there, he had left a note on the bed side table that simply read

_Raven_   
_I woke up early to finish something for Scott, I'll be in the lab or teaching all day. Help yourself to some food and if you want to feel free to use the shower. Alex says you can use one of his shirts for a change of clothes if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it._   
_-Hank_

Raven laughed softly at the suggestion from Alex. She decided that maybe today she might just take something of Hank's, she was sure he wouldn't mind and if he did she could just erase the memory from his mind and change. She searched through his closet and found a button up that looked comfortable enough, it was a dark blue that matched Hank's fur when he was in his Beast form. Blue hadn't been Raven's favourite colour until she had seen the sky again and remembered how beautiful it was, now she couldn’t get enough of the colour. She quickly pulled the garment on and stole a pair of skinny jeans, something she assumed were Alex playing a prank on Hank. Once she was satisfied with her outfit she went downstairs to find something to eat.

When she walked into the kitchen she found it blissfully empty, she didn't feel like explaining to anyone who she was and why she was there. She made do with the empty room, quickly heading to the fridge to grab something. After making her snack selection Raven went to see if Hank was in the lab, it was empty to her surprise, then she remembered Hank writing that he might be teaching if he wasn't in the lab. Raven wandered the halls for a bit trying to peer into rooms to see where Hank was. After a fruitless search for her tall friend she went to sit in the library for a while, while she was younger she never found books particularly interesting but now she needed something to do. After choosing a book that looked suitable she sat down to read.

Raven quickly found herself swept up in a fantastic world where her troubles didn't exist. She got up a few times to replenish her snacks, use the washroom or look for Hank, but other than that her attention was held by the book. She was just reaching the end when she heard voices outside the library. One sounded like the ever elusive Hank while the other sounded like Mystique. Raven looked up then back down at the book. She frowned a little and picked up the book deciding to read the last few pages before she went out to talk to Hank. She didn't want her counterpart to see her outfit and assume anything, although Raven was getting just a little tired of the other's behaviour towards her.

She has just finished the final page when there was a small commotion outside the library. She frowned a little and looked up towards the library door. With a small sigh she put the book away and opened the door. She saw Alex, Charles, Hank, Mystique and a woman she didn't know hurrying towards her. Her curiosity got the better of her and she followed Hank looking worried. Hank glanced over and smiled just a bit, the group of people headed down an elevator raven hadn’t noticed before and the basement of the school. Raven looked around and frowned deeply before she looked up at hank.

"What's going on Hank?" The lanky man sighed softly and murmured.

"It seems Erik has been stirring up trouble. Charles is going to try to find him. I'm sorry Raven but could you stay out here for this?" Raven shrugged and nodded.

"Sure, I don't mind. I'll keep the fort secured sir!" Raven smiled playfully and mock saluted, Hank laughed softly before shaking his head a little and joining the other mutants in the room.

Several minutes passed, at one point Raven felt an overwhelming pressure on her mind, she quickly put up mental blocks fearing Warlock had found her, even with the school’s protective barrier. The presence felt old and powerful, it regarded her with curiosity before it vanished. A few more tense moments passed in silence before the door to the room everyone had vanished into opened and the group hurried out with Charles slumped in his chair unconscious. Moria shook Charles looking worried and slightly panicked.

"Charles. Charles, are you okay?" A sharp crackling sound caused the four mutants and Moria to look up. At the end of the hall stood a group of four more mutants who looked like they were about to go to a rock fest, in the center of their semi circle stood a large blue alien looking being. Mystique straightened when she saw the mutant dressed in red.

"Erik-" Erik raised his hand pulling Charles' chair down the hall towards the other mutants Mystique took a half step forward and shouted "-Charles!" Alex didn't even hesitate before he was tearing down the hall after the wheel chair. Raven looked at the blonde man before quickly dashing after him, intent on pulling him back to safety. A panicked yell of their names came from Hank, the sound of his voice almost made Raven stop. But Alex's next shout made her more determined to pull him away.

"Hey! Hey, ass hole!" The blue alien and the four mutants started vanishing in a purple sphere, Alex stopped and shouted for them to stop before attempting to blast them with his plasma rings. Raven heard Hank scream "NO!" behind them and the sound tugged at her heartstrings, it was a broken sound, like he already knew the fair of his friends. But it was too late now, she reached Alex just as a wave of fire rushed towards them, she grabbed the back of Alex's shirt and that was the last thing she knew.

 

Meanwhile, a certain silver haired speedster had torn through the school, saving everyone. Or nearly everyone. After getting everyone he saw outside Peter Maximoff observed the damage to the school.

"Wow!" Hank shook his head a little looking around in confusion. The blast and the sudden change of scenery caught him off guard, when he saw Peter he frowned and looked at the school.

"Where... Where did you...?" Peter quickly explained he was searching for the professor and he thought he could find him at the school. Hank frowned deeply before murmuring. "They took him away." He lifted his head when he heard whispers from the students. Mystique was in her natural blue form in front of all of them, the students all seemed to be in awe. Mystique looked at Hank and the scientist shrugged.

"They look up to you. Right now. They need you." Mystique sighed and shook her head looking around t the students.

"That's not what they need." She quickly changed back to her blonde look causing several students to gasp in surprise and awe. The sound of a car driving down the dirt road caused the assembled mutants to look over. A few moving out of the way of the car and the teenagers who hopped out. Scott was the first to come to his senses. His voice got a little higher with worry when he spoke.

"What happened? Where's Alex? Where's my brother?" Hank looked towards Peter with a meaningful look. Peter in turn frowned and shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure I got everybody." Hank quickly scanned the mutants them murmured. "Alex was closest to the blast." His face paled when he realized he could see several people with dark hair but not a single one was Raven. He drew a slightly shaky breath mentally going over ways the two mutants might have survived the blast. His panicked thought process was interrupted by the sound of a chopper and a loud announcement asking the mutants to stay calm while medical assistance arrived. Hank frowned a little looking confused about the chopper's appearance, Moria however seemed happy to see it.

"Hey! Moira MacTaggert, CIA! Thank God you're here!" Hank frowned a little, something about these men made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Mystique was also weary it seemed, she tilted her head and when a man exited the chopper and removed his hat she recognized him, a feeling of dread filling her stomach.

"WAIT!" Unfortunately her warning came too late, some type of sound wave weapon was deployed and the whole school ground was knocked out. Save for three teen-aged mutants who were cleverly hidden.

 

  
A low mumbling sound was what eventually woke Raven, the last thing she could recall was grabbing Alex and putting up a telekinetic shield. She wondered if perhaps she had saved them and Hank was fussing over them. Another thought hit her, maybe they had died and this was the after life. Her only question was did she get put in heaven or hell? The mutterings got louder and she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a salt and pepper haired man in a purple shirt, Alex was on the man's other side and both were hooked up to monitors of some sort. Raven quickly drew the conclusion that she was recaptured by Warlock and Terry, or the lesser of two evils she was now the subject of some government test. The heart monitor picked up the increased heart rate her panicked thoughts had brought on. A warm soothing voice reached her at the same time a tall, muscular blonde man stepped into her field of view.

"Easy there ma'am, it's alright. You and your friend are safe now. I'm Steve Rogers."


	10. Chapter 9

Raven blinked a few times and frowned, she opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a raspy whisper. The man with salt and pepper hair came over with a bottle of water, he held it out but when Raven eagerly grabbed it he put a hand on the lid.

"Take it slow okay? You've been here for three days now, neither one of you moved the whole time. It was a little concerning." Raven nodded slowly and opened the bottle, she took a small sip and sighed softly in relief. She looked at Steve then frowned and tried again.

"How....how did we get..here?" Steve sat down in a chair close to Raven's bed and shrugged.

"We were hoping you could tell us that, we were all in the living room after a debriefing and all of a sudden there was this ball of fire in front of us. When it died down you and your friend were laying on the floor. You were both unconscious but you didn't seem harmed." Raven frowned softly and looked over at Alex.

"I-I don't know how we got here. There was a...a.. I don't know what it was. But it kidnapped Charles. Alex..he went after it, I tried to stop him. He uh...he set off an explosion, I tried to put up a shield. I guess it world better than I thought it would." Steve nodded a bit then stood up. He walked over to Alex's bed and looked down at him.

"Bruce has been trying to figure out who you are and how you got here. It's nice to have a name to go off of now. Can I ask yours?" Raven fidgeted a little then nodded.

"My name is Ra-" the woman frowned when she was interrupted by another voice, one she recognized well.

"Oblivion!?" As soon as she heard the deep tone she whirled around, two balls of electricity in her hands, already prepared for a fight. At the entrance to the medical wing stood the winter soldier. Granted he wasn't dressed in his usual garb but it was undeniably him. Steve was instantly on alert, glancing between the two with a careful look.

"You two know each other than?" The soldier glared at Raven and sneered.

"She's an assassin, deadliest of the bunch. You think my kill count is high. She's credited with over a thousand!" Steve paused and looked over at Raven with a face that showed shock and a bit of repulsion. Raven shrank away from his gaze before straightening and taking her defensive stance again.

"Is that true? How could one person even kill a thousand?" Raven sneered at the solder then snapped.  
  
"Yes it's true, it wasn't exactly by choice! I didn't like killing, most of my victims were innocent. I hated every second of it. Besides, it's not exactly like I worked alone for all my assassinations. Your little friend the soldier helped with many of them, I just got the credit." Steve sighed softly and looked between the two on edge assassins.

"Okay, let's calm down. Bucky was under HYDRA's control at the time. He's not that type of person. And from your explanation I'm guessing you were being controlled too?" Raven huffed a little and nodded, she still kept a watchful eye on the soldier.

"So you actually have a real name? HYDRA didn't strip that from you?" Bucky shook his head and frowned a little.

"HYDRA didn't take everything. My name is James Buchanan Barnes, the winter soldier is just the name HYDRA used for me" Raven nodded and sat back down, the energy died in her hands she ran a hand through her hair and sighed softly.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have been so ready to fight. I watched you be put under a few times, I should have known." Bucky nodded and cleared his throat.  
  
"I'm guessing you have a name besides 'Oblivion' right?" Raven laughed a little and nodded.  
  
"Yeah, my name is Raven. It's a pleasure to meet the real you and not killer robot you." Bucky laughed a bit and nodded.

"Likewise, will you be staying here then?" Raven sighed and looked over at Alex. She watched the rise and fall of his chest and the jagged green line on the heart monitor.

"I don't know. I was staying at a school, he's from the school too. Do you know when he'll wake up, uh, I didn't catch your name." The man who had handed her the water bottle looked up from the papers he had turned to once the tension had risen. Raven saw his eyes flash from a vivid green to the brown she had seen earlier.

"Sorry, my name is Bruce Banner. I'm not sure when he'll wake up, or if he will at all. I didn't think you would wake up so there's hope for him I guess." Raven frowned softly and looked down. Her healing ability was more than likely the reason she had woken up, but she didn't want to voice this out loud in case Bruce decided Alex was a lost cause.

"I guess, if it's okay, we'll stay here until he's awake and ready to go back." Steve nodded and smiled softly, he motioned to the door where Bucky still stood.

"If you want Bucky and I can show you around, get you a room, something to eat. Introduce you to some people." Raven looked a little hesitant then sighs and nodded, she mumbled a soft yes and stood up. Steve lead her over to Bucky and the two started a tour of the tower, first it was the communal floor, then the lab, there were the floors with the rooms, she was quickly assigned to one that had a nice view of the city. The two super soldiers showed her every nook and cranny of the tower.

When they were through with their tour she knew where almost everything was, she had also met Clint, Pietro and Vision. The archer had made a comment about how it was his job to pick up strays, causing Raven to smile a little. Pietro had pulled off a flirty hello, complete with a small bow and some hand kissing, Raven simply raised a brow at his attempts and took her hand back. Vision had been the most unnerving at the same time that he was the most interesting, the android had regarded Raven with strangely hypnotic eyes, after a moment he smiled and silently offered her his hand.

After those introductions Steve and Bucky lead her back towards a kitchen, she sat down at the table and put her head down. She heard Steve asking her what she wanted to eat but her mind drowned him out. She was once again exhausted from the day, it had only been a few hours since she had woken up, it was a lot she had to understand all of a sudden. She heard Steve speaking again, or rather she heard the sound of his voice, the words he said were lost on her. She didn't even notice when someone else joined them in the kitchen. She was almost asleep when a low, smooth tone made her perk up just a little in curiosity

"Perhaps the woman wishes to sleep captain, she looks half dead." When Raven peeked open her eyes she saw a tall, slender man with black hair and bright green eyes, she remembered his face vaguely from a news cast she had seen a few years ago while she was out on a mission. Although the picture on news had shown the man with bright, ice blue eyes. She found she liked the green better. The shade of blue just didn't sit right with her. However, the man's name escaped her, no matter how hard she tried to think back to the news story. The raven haired man suddenly chuckled softly and turned around to fully face her. He smiled smoothly then strode towards her with a smooth gait and offered a hand.

"Hello my dear. My name is Loki." Raven frowned and straightened, she rubbed at her eyes and scoffed.

"Loki? As in the Norse god of mischief? Because he used to be my favourite Norse god." Loki smiled brightly and half bowed, looking pleased Raven knew who he was and even more pleased at the fact he was her favourite.

"The very same my dear. If I may ask, why am I your favourite? Do you have a taste for mischief?" Raven simply raised a brow looking unimpressed. She looked up at Bucky and Steve expecting them to share her looks of disbelief. When instead she saw a look of distrust from Steve and an unsure look from Bucky she frowned and looked back at Loki.

"You're actually Loki? As in had sex with a horse gave birth to an eight legged horse Loki? As in father of a giant ass wolf named Fenrir, Loki? Father of Jörmungand, who might I add is another giant ass animal?" Loki looked at her with a large smile when Raven listed the facts.

"I'm impressed, most mortals just seem to know that I tried to take over earth. Not many bother knowing anything more about me, much less my children." Raven shrugged a little and absentmindedly twiddled her thumbs.

"When I was in collage I majored in law. But I loved mythology, I look as many courses in it as I was allowed. I wanted to do something with mythology, My parents would have supported anything I decided to do so it was an option, I just chose law." A low chuckle from Loki made Raven blush bright red when she realized she had been rambling, she looked down and coughed.

"Well like i said, you were my favourite Norse god." Loki smirked a little and raised a brow.

"Were? Am I still not? Whatever did I do to lose that first place?" Raven blushed more and shrugged.

"I guess you still are. But it's weird to think my favourite Norse god is standing right in front of me." Loki chuckled again and stepped closer to Raven, suddenly Steve and Bucky were standing on either side of her. Bucky looked a little unsure of this interruption but Steve looked angry about something.

"That's enough Loki, leave her be. Like you said, she's tired." Loki smirked a little at the reaction from the two soldiers, with a sly smile he took a few steps backwards.

"Might I at least know the ladies name before I am exiled from her company?" Steve scowled and opened his mouth, probably to tell Loki to get lost. He was beaten to the punch by Raven who quickly spoke up, something about Loki made her feel extremely calm. She didn't understand it fully but she liked the feeling.

"My name is Raven, and it's been a pleasure to meet you Loki." Loki smiled again and half bowed towards Raven before leaving the kitchen. Bucky frowned a little and muttered something about how Loki was creepy, even if he wasn't trying to be. Steve watched the door where the trickster disappeared with a small grimace.

"Come on miss, as much as I hate to admit it. You look tired, you should at least go take a shower before meeting anyone else." Raven nodded and stood she wanted to head back to her new room but she wanted to avoid the solider escort she'd had since leaving the medical wing. So she simply smiled and waved at them, secretly sending a small pulse of electricity to Bucky's arm. When it short circuited and went limp she headed to the door.

"I'll see you later, Bucky, Steve. That arm looks like it could use a tune up Bucky. Get yourself some new tech or something." When the two soldiers looked up from Bucky's metallic arm they found the kitchen was empty already. Steve frowned and took a step ready to follow Raven to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. Bucky reached out with his normal hand and out it on Steve's shoulder.

"Easy there Steve, she just woke up in a strange place. We probably aren't helping her as much as we are putting her on edge. Let her explore on her own, keep tabs on her with FRIDAY if that makes you feel better." Steve sighed but nodded, he knew he had hovered during Bucky's first month or so at the tower and Bucky had only just told him he had found it annoying as hell. Steve watched the door for several more moments before nodding again.

"Alright. I'll let her explore by herself. I just hope she'll be okay."

 

Raven was in fact doing just fine, she made it to her room alright and was already enjoying a warm shower, or at least it was supposed to be warm, halfway through it grew unbearably cold. The water quickly warmed up again and she continued her shower. When she turned off the water and headed over to the mirror to try and get a good look at her appearance, she frowned. In the steam on her mirror was a note written in frost.

Sorry about the chill love, this spell is a little uncontrollable. I just wanted to say, if you wanted to speak without the captain interrupting simply call for me in your thoughts. I'll hear you and come little dove.

-Loki

 

 


	11. Chapter 10

  
Raven smirked and hummed a little then wiped the frost off her mirror. She would fully admit Loki was attractive and the idea that she caught the attention of a god was rather flattering to her, she wasn't anything special, if anything she was a killer. But perhaps if a god could see something in her, it was really there. Raven stretched and yawned before ruffling her hair and deciding a quick nap would be extremely helpful at the moment. She curled up on the bed but frowned slightly, something was off. She wanted someone to snuggle with, preferably someone with fur. The thought had barely left her mind when there was a green glow in the spot beside her, she tensed and prepared for a fight when the mist cleared she was relived to find Loki laying in her bed smirking up at her.

"You want someone to sleep with Pet?" Raven scowled a bit and rolled her eyes at the slight implications his tone suggested.

"I want someone to cuddle with, there's a difference." Loki chuckled a little bit and lay back, he wordlessly opened his arms and smiled in an inviting way, the black haired woman sighed but curled up against him anyway. As soon as the god's arms closed around her Raven was asleep.

When she awoke Loki was gone, there was a note on the pillow he has previously occupied, Raven frowned and quickly read it.

_I would have stayed until you awoke Pet, but you have been sleeping for near forty-two hours. The captain asked me to assist with something, I'll return once I'm finished. Hopefully before you wake._

_-Loki_

Raven smiled a little then frowned and reread it. She had been asleep for forty-two hours, that probably explained both the crick in her neck and the slight growling sound emanating from her stomach. She sat up then stretched and got out of the bed. After quickly washing up she hurried down to the medbay, intent on seeing Alex before she ate. She opened the door expecting to see her blonde friend only to frown in confusing when she found it empty. A robotic, English voice spoke from seemingly all around her.

"You must be the new mutant, my name is J.A.R.V.I.S. If you are looking for your companion Doctor Banner and Doctor Zena have moved him to the lab for closer monitoring." Raven frowned a little and shifted awkwardly.

"Um...thank you J.A.R.V.I.S...um, can you tell me how would I get to the lab?" Raven could almost hear the cheery tone in the robot butler's voice as he led her down to the lab. When she walked in she immediately saw Alex, the blonde looked a little better than the last time she saw him, even if he was still unconscious. Raven smiled happily then walked towards him.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my lab? Bruce! Bruce, there is someone here." The sharp woman's voice caught Raven off guard. She jumped and turned around trying to spot who was speaking.

"Watch out for the shelf!" The warning came too late and Raven crashed into a shelf behind her, a beaker dropped and shattered over her head. The tiny woman wasn't worried about the glass shard, nor the cyan coloured liquid dripping down. The woman however seemed to be worried about both. She quickly set about trying to clean up the mess, her face set in a scowl as she worked.

"Would you tell me who you are already? Or should I call my fiancée in?" Raven frowned a little then looked up when she heard the lab doors opening and sighed in relief when she saw Bruce walk in.

"It's okay Zena darling. She came in with our patent, she woke up two days ago." Raven sighed a little and looked over at the other woman, Zena. She was tall, standing almost even to Banner, maybe an inch or two height difference between them. Her skin was a deep brown colour and her hair and eye were black. Zena grumbled and went to work on trying to replicate the liquid Raven had spilled on herself.

"I'm sorry about Zena, usually she's social. When it comes to the lab, well she's rather. Territorial? I don't know if that's the right word." Zena looked up from her work and sighed.

"I think bitchy is the right word here. I do apologize, but I've been working on this serum to help control my mutation for years now. I only just made this prototype yesterday." Raven frowned a little and nodded.

"It's okay, I understand. I'm sorry about spilling it."

"It's okay, here is still enough here that I can replicate it. Oh! You shouldn't worry about any ill effects, I don't think it will work unless you have a mutation that allows you to transform." Raven paused and shook her head. She had her deadly other form that was pure electricity in a humanoid form, but she didn't think that counted as a transformation. With a nod Zena returned to her serum and Bruce motioned to Alex.

"You can go see him now. There hasn't been much change, he was dreaming last night and a little this morning. I'm still not sure when or if he'll wake up, but it is looking just a little better. We've contacted the school you mentioned, Xavier's right?" Raven smiled and nodded, already the thought of Xavier's made her think of home, and cuddling with a certain scientist.

"Yep, Xavier's. Do you think Hank could help Alex?" Bruce frowned a little and tilted his head.

"By Hank, do you mean Doctor Hank McCoy?" Raven nodded again, eagerly awaiting the answer.

"Then yes, I believe he'll be able to help in some way. I've heard he's smarter than most of the scientific community, I'm sure he'll have an idea to bring him out of his coma." When Bruce finished he smiled shyly and headed over to Zena to help with whatever she needed. Raven looked over at Alex and headed over to him.

"Hey Alex...we've been here for a few days now. I guess Hank and the others are coming. So that's good. Maybe he can figure something out. You know how clever he is." Raven didn't hear the lab doors open or the hushed conversation between Bruce and another man. She did however hear him call out loudly.

"Well hello gorgeous. What's your name?" Raven frowned a little and looks up from Alex's still form, the man was yet another attractive face, this one however she recognized. Billionaire playboy Tony Stark.

"My name is unavailable and uninterested." Tony laughed and shrugged.

"Eh, that's okay. I just came by to see our two visitors. How are you doing anyway?” Raven watched the billionaire for a moment, trying to get a read on him. When she decided he was alright she spoke.

“I’m a little overwhelmed honestly. There’s just so much happening y’know? I don’t know how to make heads or tails of it really.” Tony nodded, his face now carrying an expression of sympathy.

“I get it. It’s hard to adjust to everything when it’s all happening at once. If there anyway I could help you at all please let me know.” Raven smiled a little and shook her head.

“I just wanted to check on Alex, the only thing I need now is food.” With those words Raven smiled cheerfully and waved at the group before she left the lab and headed up to the kitchen.

When she walked into the kitchen she frowned, there was a young man in the kitchen. He had brown hair and was a bit taller than her. She was frozen in place trying to figure out just who this boy was. She was so invested in her mental investigation she didn't notice a large back spider start to descend from the ceiling above her. When the eight legged creature was finally noticed it was only because the creature had lowered itself right in front of her face. As soon as she saw the little animal Raven screamed and scrambled backwards.

The young man at the counter whipped around just in time to see her send a bolt of electricity at the spider. The tiny critter fell off its silk thread and landed on the ground. Raven stood panting softly watching it with a wide eyes, startled expression. She looked up when she heard a soft gasp from the young man, what she saw made her shrink back a little. He was horrified, his mouth was open and all he could do was squeak.

“You...you...the poor spider! It...you killed it!” Raven made a noise if disbelief and motioned to the spiders body.

“It’s tiny, and creepy and it scared me. And don’t bother with the “it’s more afraid of you than you are of it.....you don’t know....you’re not a spider” the young man just stared at her before clearing his throat.

“Right...right...not a spider..... my name is Peter, Peter Parker....but maybe you’d know me by my better known name. Spider man?” Raven raised a brow then snickered. The young mans name now a source of amusement for her.

“Spider-Man? Really? No wonder you looked like I killed your uncle” the young man’s face turned pale and immediately raven regretted her words.

“Hey....are spiders really that big a deal? If so I’m sorry.....” Peter shook his head slowly and spoke with a sad tone.

“My uncle...he actually was murdered....” Raven gasped a little and looked down, her face red with shame at her choice of words.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so awful.....” Peter smiled a little sadly and shrugged.

“It’s not your fault. Anyway....spider killing and diarrhea of the mouth aside, it’s nice to meet you. I don’t think I got your name though.”

“My name is Raven Night.....uh...yeah..that’s all...” peter friend a little and watched raven with a skeptical look. The hair on his arms was raising in alarm at the lie. He didn’t know what was up with this lady but his slider senses did not like it.

“......I know you’re hiding something....but I’m not going to ask what it is....I did t shine as small as you could be dangerous.” Raven paused a little then crossed her arms and huffed.

“Small?? I am not small! And even if I was you’re practically the itsy bitsy spider. You’ve got no room to talk!” Peter scoffed and raised a brow before he looked raven over pointedly.

“I’m six foot, how tall are you “little bird”? Raven scowled and looked down at the floor grumpily. Peter laughed a little and shook his head. Even if she hadn’t made the best first impression he found the small woman’s company enjoyable.

“Okay, okay... I’ll let you pretend you’re normal sized.” Raven wasn’t truly upset she had been called little but she had found the small bit of banter enjoyable. She raised her head and grinned a little at the teen.

“Well... I’m glad you’v come to your senses. Because I am clearly taller than you. Itsy bitsy.” Peter laughs a little and shook his head he opened his mouth to say something in response when his phone suddenly chummed from his pocket. The teen’s face drained of blood when he opened the notification and saw who it was from.

“Crud! I’m going to be late. It was nice to meet you but I gotta go.” Without saying a word Peter bolted from the kitchen and down the hall. Leaving a confused Raven in his wake.

 


	12. Chapter 11

  
Raven was still standing in the kitchen looking confused about Peter’s sudden disappearance when Tony  walked into the kitchen. Behind him was a confused Steve.

“Hey raven. Have you seen Bucky or a tall, kid with brown hair?” Raven frowned a little and pointed down the hall where peter had vanished.

“Tall kid with brown hair went that way. And no I haven’t seen Bucky, where did you see him last? Maybe he still there?” Steve shrugged and frowned a little deeper.

“I’m not sure, last I saw he was eating breakfast. Then he got called down by FRIDAY to meet some people. Usually he doesn’t but something about these two got him excited.” Raven hummed a little, it knowing how to help Steve in his search for his friend. Outside her command code she wasn’t a good tracker or strategist.

“Sorry Steve, I’ve got no ideas on how to help.” Steve smiled a little and sent Raven a kind smile. She didn’t know how or why but that smile made her feel much calmer than she had been in a while, something about it just spoke calmness and reassurance. Steve smiled again then left the kitchen to try and find his lost friend. Tony watched as Steve left then looked at raven with a thoughtful look.

  
“The tower seems busy today. You, your friend. The others who are coming. Bucky’s guests. The two dudes I let in just now. Raven raised a brow at his chattering then tilted her head

"The "two dudes just now"? Sounds like you don't even know who's in your tower." Tony shrugged.

"Well, I suppose I should know the people I let in. But J.A.R.V.I.S will tell me if anything is wrong." Raven nodded a little, the AI was an impressive feat of engineering and she didn't doubt he would warn Stark if something went wrong. Almost as if their prediction was correct J.A.R.V.I.S spoke up just then. His robotic voice held what could have been a touch of concern were he human

Sir, the two men you let in appear to be aggravating Sargent Barnes. Shall I alert the captain?

"Uh...yeah, let him know what's up, I'll be down in a moment." Before Tony could leave Raven shot up from her position and spoke rapidly.

"These two guys, what did they say? What did they look like?"

"He said he and his associate had business with Barnes. He kinda looked like a young Leonardo DeCaprio. The guy with him I don't know what he looked like." Raven paled and hurried down the hall.

"You idiot! You just let a killer in the building!" Raven was faced with a difficult choice now. Go and try to help Barnes, or run and hide from the man who used her for the last eight years.

Meanwhile, Bucky was facing his own dilemma. He had gone to speak with the two men when a strong wave of power slammed him against the wall. The man who looked like Leonardo DeCaprio smirked at Bucky while the other, who he remembered was named Warlock, kept him still, the soldier struggled against the telekinetic force but he couldn't break it. His eyes widened in terror when he heard the man start to speak.

"Toska, rzhavchina, pech', rassvet, semnadtsat', dobrokachestvennyye" Bucky's yelling didn't seem to drown out the man's voice. He was growing desperate to escape now, he lashed out at the wall creating a deep dent, the brown haired man was unfazed and continued to speak.

"devyat', vozvrashcheniye na rodinu, odin, gruzovoy vagon." Bucky's struggling ceased, he stared blankly at the wall in front of him. The man chuckled softly, looking way too pleased with the state he now had Bucky, or rather the soldier in. He smirked sickly and circled the Soldier like a dog then spoke. His voice was low and dangerous sounding.

"Soldier. Your status?" the soldier fixed the man with his chilling stare.

"Gotovy k soblyudeniyu" the brown haired stranger smirked and nodded.

"Good, good...your next mission is simple enough. Kill Oblivion."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	13. Chapter 12

  
Raven skidded to a halt down one of the hallways, she bent at the waist and took several hurried breaths. She was about to resume her search for Bucky and the two men when she was suddenly bowled over by a human wall. She quickly spun around ready to face her attacker, what she saw made her blood grow cold. She had worked alongside the Winter Soldier enough to recognize his face when he was given a mission. And it seemed like she was the next one. He took a swing at her with a knife, she easily dodged it and went to launch a counter attack. Unfortunately, her movement let the Soldier grab her shirt. He pulled her close and growled.

"Ty moya missiya. Prishlo vremya zabveniya.*" Raven struggled against his hold but she knew he had the upper hand with strength. The Soldier knew this too, he also knew she'd quickly regain her wits and unleash her mutation. He intended to end this mission before she could do that. He quickly slammed her against the floor hard enough that she felt her skull crack and her vision blurred. The next moment he had his knife pressed against her throat.

The sharpened blade cut through her skin easily, with one quick swipe the Soldier had already made a deep incision. Just as quickly however Raven's healing kicked in. The Soldier knew to truly kill his opponent he had to treat her like a zombie, sever the head from the body and she couldn't heal herself. With sure, practiced movements the Solider drew the blade across the healing wound again. Raven gasped trying to bring in air, her vision was already rapidly fading and she was sure this would be how she died. In place of a laugh, a gurgling, choked off wheeze sound escaped her at the irony of her situation.

How funny you spend years wanting to die, months trying to take your life and now that you actually have a chance to be happy. You're going to die.

As her last thoughts flickered through her rapidly fading mind, she heard an enraged roar and suddenly the weight of the Solider was flung off her. She felt a pair of large hands cup her face and run through her hair a few times before returning to brush over her cheeks. A snarl sounded from above her and the hands left her face, there was a scuffling sound then a dull thud was heard a few feet from her.

When her healing had progressed enough for her to move she turn over to see what was happening she was surprised to see the Soldier fighting against a blue furry mutant, Raven instantly recognized Hank's furry form and she tried to call out to him. The Soldier was strong, much too strong for the scrawny scientist to successfully hold off, even if he was a little balmier in this other form. He was outmatched against the Soldier, or so she through. Hank's face was set in a snarl and even from where she lay Raven could hear the growls and small roars Hank was voicing. The Soldier scowled, losing his patience with the mutant. He swiped at Hank with his knife and barked out.

"Pereyekhat'! Pozvol' mne zakonchit' yeye!**"Hank growled softly, his fur was raised along his spine, Raven was a little surprise that he actually looked frightening, she briefly wondered where the mild mannered doctor had gone.

"Net, ty ne prichinish' yey vreda. YA ne pozvolyu tebe.***" Raven's eyes widened at the perfect Russian that Hank growled at the Soldier, who tried again to get past Hank, the blue mutant snarled and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. The Soldier sneered at Hank and tried to get a hit with the knife he still had gripped in his hand. When he successfully hit Hank's side the scientist roared loudly and threw the Soldier away from him. The Soldier stopped himself from hitting the wall then growled at Hank. The genius growled back and launched himself at the Soldier, while the Soldier was well trained and knew what he was doing Hank was stronger and was surprisingly much more graceful, he didn’t let any of the soldiers attacks hit him after the first. The two danced around each other in a flurry of aggressive movements and angry snarls.

Raven started coughing trying to catch Hank's attention, she knew how to jolt the Soldier out of his attack mode and somehow she had to communicate the information to Hank. It seemed like he'd have to figure it out on his own though, her vocal cords were still healing, they were a little more complex than the rest of the damaged tissues and would take a little longer to heal. She wasn't even sure her voice would be heard over the aggressive sounds coming from Hank. She watched as the two fighters came together again, this time however, before the Soldier could score another hit on Hank, the furred mutant grabbed the Soldier by the throat and threw him.

The brunette assassin hit the wall with enough force that a small dent as left in his wake. He slumped to the ground unconscious. Hank growled again then hurried over to Raven, when he saw she was sitting up his fur flattened and he knelt beside her.

"RAVEN! Are you okay? What happened? I went down to the lab and that Stark fellow told me you ran off. I came down the hall and saw that man over you.... I thought" Hank frowned softly and looked down before he murmured.

"I thought I was too late" Raven reached forward and tapped Hank on the shoulder, when Hank looked up Raven smiled softly and hugged him, Raven could feel Hank's body shudder before his arms circled her waist and pulled her closer to him. Raven frowned a bit and pulled back to point at his side where red was staining the blue fur. Hank shook his head and muttered.

"Advanced healing...obviously not as strong as yours, just mild or moderate wounds. I'll be fine in an hour or so." Raven frowned more but nodded. A small groan from behind Hank had them both looking up, the Solider raised his head and made eye contact with Raven. Hank growled and puffed up, immediately the Soldier lowered his gaze. Hank growled again and tried to position Raven behind him and shield her from the assassin but she quickly grabbed his wrist and shook her head. Hank hesitated but stayed where he was, Raven got up and shook her head slightly then walked over to the Soldier, Hank stayed right behind her, his fur still raised.

".....B...Bu...Bu-cky?" The Soldier jumped a little and looked back up, his expression showed fear and remorse.

"I'm sorry...he was here with that lap dog of his. I didn't mean to. Please forgive me." Hank frowned and looked between the two, Raven smiled a little and reached a hand out for Bucky.

"I...I...kn-now..." Bucky sighed softly and looked down. His whole posture spoke regret and shame. Raven coughed a bit and massaged her throat then stood. She offered a hand to Bucky and when he took it she tried to help him stand, once Bucky was on his feet Raven pointed down the hall.

"To....t-he..lab?" Hank nodded and wrapped and arm around Raven's shoulders.

"We should go back. Maybe someone can explain what's happening with....him." Hank shot a half glare at Bucky, and pulled Raven closer to him. Bucky shrunk away from Hank but Raven didn't seem to notice his behaviour. Hank led the two of them back to the lab, when they walked in Steve rushed forward and looked at Bucky with concern in his eyes.

"What happened? Tony just said Raven ran off yelling something about a murderer who was looking for you." Bucky sighed softly and scratched the back of his head, his whole demeanour was downcast and upset.

"It was a man named Terry and his mutant pet, Warlock. They h-have...we-ll they have a h-huge operation of mutant slaves. A sin-gle word c-can turn one into a robotic k-killer. It's much like Bucky's Soldier programming. Only a bu-mp to the head won't break this c-code." Raven's throat burned after the explanation, she reached up to rub at it. Hank frowned at her looking rather worried about her then murmured.

"Do you need some water?" Raven glanced up at him and nodded, immediately he rushed off to find her what she needed. While the Avengers started fussing over Bucky, Raven slipped away from the group and sat on Alex's bed, she looked down at the sleeping blonde and sighed.

"This is cra-zy Alex...I wish I could go bac-k in time and ju-st never be born. It would be sim-pler." The blonde didn't respond to Raven, she scoffed a little and frowned.

"Here I am talking to you like you're goi-ng to wake up beca-use I'm regre-tting be-nig born." When Hank returned he momentarily panicked when Raven wasn't where she was supposed to be, he calmed down again when he saw her with Alex, the blue mutant walked over and offered her the glass before joining her on the edge of Alex's bed.

Raven sipped the water and sighed heavily, she had never actually feared for her life before. Her mutation had always saved her or she had wanted to die. This fear had been startling, add that to the knowledge that Terry was possibly still in the building, it was just too much for her at the moment. Hank sighed softly then murmured.

"Are you okay?" Raven frowned and shook her head. Hank immediately wrapped an arm around her and held her close to him. Raven shuddered and buried her face in the fur on his neck, her fingers clutched at his shirt and she started sobbing. Hank frowned a little and hugged her tightly, he looked around at the other people crowding the room then whispered to her.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Raven nodded her head rapidly and choked on a sob. Hank scooped her up in his arms and walked up to the avengers.

"I'm taking Raven back to her room. She needs to be somewhere relaxing."

"Hang on, we still need to know who that man was, she can't go yet." Raven tensed a little at Steve's words and clung tighter to Hank. The blue man narrowed his eyes a little and spoke sternly.

"You can ask her after she's relaxed. This is too much for her right now." Raven felt a warm feeling blossom when Hank told Steve to shove it. Not many people stood up for her in her life. She was either a living weapon or the rich girl everyone presumed was a bitch.

"Let her go Captain. I'll take her back, know the way." Hank looked down at Raven, who still had her face hidden in his fur. He looked up at the speaker, who turned out to be Loki, and shook his head.

"I'll take her. I'll find the way there just fine."

Sir, if you do get lost. I'll be more than happy to lead you to her room. As well as deter any interruptions. Hank smiled, suddenly reminded of why he liked machinery and other tech so much. It was much easier to get along with and it was much more help than humans ever were.

"Thank you J.A.R.V.I.S. Was it?"

Yes sir, it is no problem. I am here to help where I can. Raven shifted in Hank's arms and mumbled pitifully.

"Hank, can we please go? I just want to take a bath or a shower, just something." Hank looked down and nodded.

"You can ask her questions when she's ready. Until then, please leave her be." Hank turned and left the room, after asking J.A.R.V.I.S where Raven's room was he headed down the correct hall. Once he was a certain ways away from the lab he took a deep inhale in, when he failed to pick up any scents from passersby he began to purr. Raven continued to cry for a few more minutes then she suddenly stopped. Hank looked down at her, wondering if perhaps she had passed out or maybe just run out of tears. He was a little embarrassed to see she was looking up at him with a small smile.

"That's cute. And oddly relaxing." Hank smiled softly and kissed the top of her head.

"That's what I was aiming for. I don't like seeing you that upset." Raven smiled softly and shifted a little so she could hug him.

"Thank you Hank. I don't think I've ever met someone who would stand up against a God for me. Loki is...appealing, but right now I don't want him." Hank felt an odd sense of pride at the fact that Raven wanted him over a god. He also felt a small pin prick of jealousy at her description of him being "appealing". With a heavy sigh Hank opened the door to Raven's room and set her down.

"You said you wanted a bath or a shower right?" Raven nodded and lent up to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you Hank. I was scared I would die for a moment. He would have finished the job if you hadn't come when you did." Hank smiles a little and gently brushed one of his claws over her cheek.

"You don't have to thank me. I was saving the life of someone important to me. If the occasion called for it I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Raven smiled again at Hank before stepping away from him and turning to the bathroom. She stepped in and closed the door then immediately turned the water on. She let the tub basin fill with almost boiling water then stripped down and lay in the warmth. Outside in her bedroom Hank was training his extra sensitive hearing to the bathroom, he wasn't trying to hear anything inappropriate, he was simply making sure his Raven was alright.

The train of thought caught the poor man off guard. She wasn't his. He wouldn't lie, he wanted her to be, more than anything else at this point. But she wasn't. They were friends and nothing more. The thoughts occupying the man's mind were enough to make him feel a little embarrassed. He quickly purged the thoughts from his mind and returned to his vigil. After hearing a soft sob followed by a heartbreaking.

"He should have just finned me." Hank quickly decided he would keep Raven safe, whatever or whoever tried to harm her he would stop. If he was asked to lay down his life for hers, he'd do it without hesitation. He'd keep her safe above all else, he wouldn't let any harm come to his Raven again. Even if they were only friends, he'd protect her like the treasure he saw.

  
*you're my mission. Time to die oblivion

** move! Let me finish her!

***no! You won't harm her. I won't let you

 


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers. After this last revamp of my stories I realized I could probably do with a beta reader so I can run this stuff by someone. If you’re interested please let me know. You can also find me on tumblr at Ashc-from-AO3

After Raven finished her bath she quickly dried off then frowned at her blood covered shirt, she poked her head out of the bathroom and cleared her throat. Immediately Hank looked up, he was still furry and his yellow eyes were bright with concern

"Uh.... Hank, could you pass me a shirt or something?" Hank jumped up from the bed and nodded rapidly, he wasn't entirely sure where her clothes were he looked up at her and flashed her a sheepish, fang filled smile.  
"Where are your clothes?" Raven frowned a little and shifted.

"They haven't got me any clothes yet... Actually I don't know if they were going to in the first place." Hank frowned more the cleared his throat, he hadn't even voiced his idea and he was already starting to regret it.  
"I have some extra clothes...the would be big on you but you could wear them until you get some of your own." A grateful smile spread over Raven's face and she nodded rapidly.

"Oh thank you Hank, that would be so helpful." Hank smiled brightly, a small purr raising in his throat. He shook his head a little then left Raven's room and headed towards the room he had been given for his visit to the tower. He quickly grabbed a shirt and a pair of jogging pants he liked to wear on lazy days, both articles of clothing would be massive on Raven but he found himself rather enjoying the idea of his clothes on the small woman. However, unbeknownst to Hank Loki had appeared in Raven's room wearing a small smirk.  
"Mmm, Darling you look ravishing." Raven jumped almost a foot in the air and turned around with wide eyes, a half second later she attempted to cover her modesty, a bright red blush started taking over her face making it burn with embarrassment.

"Loki! Get the hell out!" Loki chuckled softly and made a small hand motion, a moment later a brilliant black, green and gold dress was adorning Raven's small form. The woman looked down at the flowing silk and satin dress, the expensive gold adornments were heavy but not enough to pull the dress down. Raven looked back up at Loki and frowned.

"Loki, get me out of this thing." Loki's smirk turned predatory and Raven realized her mistake in wording, the dark haired God took a step forward and Raven scurried backwards.

"It would be my pleasure to help you out of that stunning dress." Loki took another step forward, the same smirk still plastered on his pale face. He continued walking forward until he had Raven backed against the wall, he was almost a foot taller than her and his intimidating stance didn't help her feel comfortable at all. Loki paused and seemed to savour the moment before he leaned down in an attempt to kiss Raven.

"What in the world? Raven?" Loki paused and sighed heavily before turning around to face the intruder, Raven squeaked out a breathy "oh thank god" to which Loki smirked again and half turned to murmur.

"Don't thank me yet love, you haven't experienced what a god can do." Raven paled a bit and a small warning snarl came from the intruder at the door. It was Hank and he didn't look too pleased with the situation he walked into. The blue mutant stalked forward and glared at Loki, he stood two inches taller than the god and he put the height to good use. He snarled again baring his teeth, Loki raised a brow and tutted.

"That's not very kind, after all you are a guest here. You should behave" Hank raised a brow and took  
another step towards Loki, the god instinctively took a step back and Raven hurried out from behind him, she stood beside Hank and glared at Loki as well.

"I should behave? You're forcing yourself on Raven, I think the captain or Stark would have something to say about that." Loki's eyes narrowed and his gaze turned surprisingly cold. Hank's expression was just as chilling and Raven found herself rubbing her arms as if the icy gazes were turning the air chilled.

"You should leave....before I make you." Loki sneered but did as he was told, a fine green mist fell to the ground where he once stood. Hank turned around and looked over Raven he frowned softly at the dress she was wearing then looked down at the clothes he had brought for her. Surely wearing something made by a god was better than wearing his old clothes, sure Loki was being a little creepy but his clothes were probably better. As soon as she saw the clothes Hank had brought she smiled brightly and made a grabby hand motion towards them.

"Ooh! Gimme gimme!* Hank raised a brow and motioned to the clothes Raven wore already.

"Are you sure you want these? That dress looks nice." Raven made a face and shook her head.

"I hate dresses, the fanciest I can stand is a pants suit." Hank chuckled softly and held out the clothes to Raven, the small woman excitedly grabbed them and rushed to the bathroom, almost tripping on the stupid dress in the process. Hank had to stifle a small laugh when Raven almost tripped, shaking his head he headed to sit on the bed. When Raven emerged from the washroom the dress was in tatters and she looked ridiculously pleased being all bundled up in Hank's clothing. Hank raised a brow and pointed to the dress.

"You really do hate those things don't you?" Raven smiles and crawled into the bed. She looked up at Hank innocently.

"It was incredibly hard to get out of, I had to do something." Hank laughed a bit and nodded in understanding.

"I see, well what are you going to do with the scraps?" Raven looked at the green tatters and grinned playfully.

"Maybe Loki can use them to tie up his hair, it's longer than mine, I think it would be smart to tie it up." Hank snorted and shook his head looking amused.

"I'd like to see that actually, he's been nothing but a dick since I arrived here." Raven scowled a bit and side hugged Hank.

"He seemed charming, but anyone who's rude to such a sweetheart isn't someone I want as a friend." Hank chuckled a little and raised a brow.

""Sweetheart"? I'm supposed to be scary y'know." Raven shrugged and reached up to let the fur on the top of Hank's head, almost immediately the scientist was purring, Raven smiled and kissed Hank's cheek, if he wasn't blushing at the accidental purring he definitely was when she kissed him.

"I know Kitten. But I can't help it, you're usually all cuddly but you did look a little intimidating with Bucky."  
"Yeah, well he was trying to kill someone whose company is kinda enjoyable...." Hank attempted a joke but he frowned a little when he realized Raven had given him a new nickname.

"..hang on, did you just call me kitten?" Raven smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Sorry, but between the purring and the adorable furry look you just remind me of a kitten, I can find another nickname if it offends you." Hank shook his head a little quicker than he should have, he was ecstatic that Raven had given him a nickname, even if it was a little unorthodox.

He was happy his blue side wasn't going to scare Raven off, she even seemed to prefer him like this. For one wild second Hank considered stopping his daily dose of the suppressors, if Raven liked him like this that was basically the only thing he needed. He was jolted from his inner musings when he felt something jab at his ribs, he looked down to see a worried Raven looking up at him with unsure eyes.

"Hey... I'm sorry about the kitten thing, you don't have to ignore me." Hank frowned a bit and shook his head.  
"No, no I wasn't ignoring you. I'm so sorry, I got a little lost in thought... I suppose you can call me kitten, as long as no one else picks it up. Especially Alex." Raven smiled brightly and nodded.

"Gotcha! Alex will never know that I get to say it." Hank chuckled a bit and ruﬄed Raven's hair ignoring her attempts to swat his hand away.

"Does this mean I get to give you a nickname?"

"Well dear Henry, that depends on what the name is." As soon as his full name crossed her lips Hank's fur bristled and he had to stop the small growl that tried to make its way out of his throat. He cleared it instead and tried to think of a suitable nickname. Something that would get across how much he cared but simultaneously seemed innocent and friendly.

"Um, sweetheart, love, darling-" Hank internally cringed at his name choices, they were all names someone would call a significant other, he hummed a bit and tried again.

"Um, m-maybe shortie, munchkin?" Raven made a face at the last two suggestions and shook her head.  
"Naw, those two last ones suck...besides, I'm not short. I'm concentrated awesome." Hank laughed and nodded, she was indeed concentrated awesome, she was strong, brave, beautiful, she had almost died not even an hour ago and she was somehow bright and cheery after just a shower. He couldn't think of a single reason why she wasn't concentrated awesome.

"Okay, okay. You're concentrated awesome." Raven smiled brightly and stood up.

"You might not be as concentrated as me but you're still awesome. Now come on, I showered and now I'm hungry." Hank stood and joined Raven on her quest for food. When she got to the kitchen she immediately went to the fridge and rummaged around, Hank raised a brow when She straightened up and threw a grape at him, the blue mutant huffed and raised a brow. Raven grinned innocently, she threw another grape at him but paused when he caught it.

"I've got some good reflex's sweetie." Raven squeaked a bit at the pet name and backed away slowly.  
"Sooo, whatcha gonna do with that grape?" Hank grinned and moved closer.

"I think I'll return it to the sender." Raven giggled a little and backed away more, Hank smirked and flicked the grape at her, Raven dodged it and quickly retaliated with her own attack.

Almost a half hour later Hank and Raven had finished their grape food fight. There were splattered grapes all over the kitchen, a few in Raven's hair and Hank was covered in more than a little smushed fruit, and at some point Hank had returned to his human form. The two were left laughing at the mess they made of each other and the kitchen.

Raven hadn't felt this free and happy in many years, she didn't know what she was feeling, she had forced herself to abandon most emotions aside from anger and hate, but with Hank's gentle, shy nature she found herself comfortable and free. While she didn't know his feelings for her yet she knew he was someone she could count on. She tries to suppress a yawn but Hank's sharp gaze caught it.

"Come on, you've had quite an ordeal. You should sleep." Raven sighs and tried to formulate an argument but quickly nodded and sighed, she hadn't realized how tired her mind and body were but she suddenly felt the crushing exhaustion, she headed down the hall smiling softly when she heard Hank following her. When the pair reached the room Raven walked in and flopped on the bed, Hank hesitated before joining her, it only took a few minutes for Raven to fall asleep. Hank waited until he was sure she was going to sleep soundly, he curled around her and inhaled deeply enjoying the way his clothed transferred his scent onto her skin. He nuzzled closer and was pleasantly surprised when Raven wrapped her arms around him, Hank smiled softly and closed his eyes. It took him barely five minutes to fall asleep, his dreams were filled with visions of the two of them like this, happy and comfortable together.


End file.
